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It may seem backward, but price isn't necessarily what determines which products end up behind glass

October 13, 2026

• Price isn't everything: Cheap everyday products can be attractive theft targets because they're small, easy to conceal, and easy to resell.

• It can vary by store: What's locked up at your Walmart may depend partly on which products are disappearing at that location.

• There's a downside: Locked cases may deter theft, but they can also frustrate legitimate shoppers and cost retailers sales.

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You've probably had this Walmart experience. You need toothpaste, deodorant, or maybe razors. You wander around and find the right aisle, then reach for the product only to discover it's locked behind glass.

Now you need an employee to unlock an $8 item.

Meanwhile, you can walk two aisles over and find merchandise worth $50 or $100 sitting completely unsecured.

It seems backward, but there's a reason for it. Retailers aren't necessarily locking up the most expensive products; they're trying to protect the products that attract the most thieves.

An $8 product can be a better target than a $100 one

For someone planning to resell stolen merchandise, an ideal product is relatively small, easy to carry, readily available, and something other people will actually buy. That's why seemingly mundane products such as razors, cosmetics, laundry detergent, over-the-counter medicine, and personal-care products can end up behind glass.

A National Retail Federation study of organized retail crime groups found that they largely targeted everyday consumer goods because they offered a combination of ease of theft, decent monetary value, and are easy to resell.

For example, a bulky $100 patio chair may be worth significantly more than a package of razors. But try stuffing a couple patio chairs into a backpack.

Why toothpaste and detergent?

Those boring household necessities have another characteristic that can make them attractive for resale: People always need them.

Consumers continually buy more toothpaste, detergent, deodorant, cosmetics, and medicine.

And selling a few discounted packages of razors or bottles of detergent online may attract considerably less attention than trying to unload a suspiciously cheap $1,500 television.

The NRF found that health and beauty products, infant products, housewares, toys, and laundry products have all been frequent targets of organized retail theft.

The organization's research also found relatively few organized theft groups targeted large or heavy high-value products, such as televisions and appliances.

Why isn't the same stuff locked up at every Walmart?

This is where things can get kinda confusing: A Walmart in a neighboring city might have that same toothpaste sitting on an open shelf.

This is because retailers can monitor inventory losses and theft patterns, meaning security measures arent always consistent from one store to another.

While it would be interesting, Walmart doesn't publicly provide a formula explaining exactly when a particular item gets put behind glass, so don't assume there's a magic dollar amount that triggers a locked case.

The more important question may be whether that particular product keeps disappearing from that particular store.

Locked cases create another problem

There's a reason Walmart doesn't simply put everything behind glass. Locked merchandise can be VERY annoying. You press the call button. You wait. Nobody comes. You press it again.

Eventually, some shoppers may decide the toothpaste isn't worth the hassle and leave without buying it.

That's a problem for retailers, too. The NRF acknowledges that security barriers can increase costs, frustrate shoppers, and lead to lost sales as shoppers turn to the ease of Amazon.

Walmart has also tested electronic locks that employees can open using work phones, rather than requiring workers to track down physical keys.

What can you do if you're tired of waiting?

Besides just buying all your household necessities from Amazon, here's perhaps the easiest workaround: Pull out the Walmart app.

Then just search for the exact item and see whether it's available for pickup or shipping. You can also check the online price while you're at it. You might be able to order the same product without standing in an aisle waiting for someone to unlock a case.

Staying active as a child could offer mental health benefits decades down the road

October 13, 2026

• A study spanning more than 30 years linked better childhood cardiovascular fitness to a lower risk of depression in adulthood.

• Researchers found a stronger connection with endurance-related fitness than with muscle strength or power.

• The findings suggest that encouraging children to stay active could have benefits that extend beyond their physical health.

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Getting kids moving can help them develop healthy habits, but physical activity may also have benefits that last well into adulthood. New research suggests that children and teenagers with better cardiorespiratory fitness may be less likely to develop depression later in life.

The study, led by researchers at the University of Tasmanias Menzies Institute for Medical Research, followed participants over more than three decades. The findings offer a closer look at how physical fitness early in life may be connected to mental health years later.

Cardiorespiratory fitness refers to how well the heart and lungs supply oxygen to the body during physical activity. Activities that get children breathing harder, such as running and other forms of aerobic exercise, can help build this type of fitness.

We already know that being physically active is good for our mental health, and previous research has shown that fitter adults are less likely to develop depression, researcher Professor Grant Tomkinson said in a news release. But we know relatively little about whether being fit early in life is linked to better mental health decades later.

This study shows that children and teenagers with better cardiorespiratory fitness had a lower risk of developing depression as adults. Importantly, fitness is something we can change, it may be an important target for improving long-term mental health.

How researchers conducted the study

Researchers used data from the Childhood Determinants of Adult Health Study, which originally assessed Australian children between the ages of 7 and 15 in 1985. More than 1,000 participants were included in the analysis.

The team evaluated participants physical fitness using several tests. A 1.6-kilometer run helped measure cardiorespiratory fitness, while a standing long jump assessed muscular power. A smaller group of participants also completed cycling tests and handgrip strength assessments.

More than 30 years later, when participants were between 36 and 49 years old, researchers assessed their mental health histories. They used a diagnostic interview developed by the World Health Organization to determine whether participants had experienced depression during their lifetimes.

By comparing the original fitness measurements with the later mental health assessments, researchers could examine whether different aspects of childhood fitness were associated with depression in adulthood.

What the findings mean for families

The results showed that better cardiorespiratory fitness during childhood and adolescence was consistently associated with a lower risk of depression in adulthood. The relationship appeared stronger among female participants.

Researchers found weaker and less consistent associations between later depression and muscular strength, while muscular power showed no clear relationship.

For families, the findings offer another reason to encourage children to find physical activities they enjoy. Running, playing sports, cycling, and other activities that get the heart pumping can help build cardiorespiratory fitness.

However, the study does not prove that lower fitness causes depression.

There are many contributing factors to depression, meaning no single factor explains risk on its own. Fitness may be one piece of the puzzle, researcher Dr. Kylie Smith said in the release. While we cannot say a lack of fitness during childhood causes depression in adults, the findings suggest that childhood fitness may have benefits beyond physical health.