Aussies want healthy lifestyle
October 18, 2012
HAVING a better quality of life is
the main motivator for Australians
to embrace a healthy lifestyle,
according to the 2012 AIA Australia
Healthy Living Index Monitor.
Over 1,500 Australians took part
in the study, which looked at
perceptions, actions and
satisfaction levels around healthy
living, with the results reflecting
respondents behaviour regarding
eating and drinking, amount of
sleep, frequency of exercise and
medical checkups.
These responses were then
correlated with self-ratings of
satisfaction in achieving these
behaviours and with overall health.
According to the results
Australians believe that the two
most important drivers of healthy
living are sufficient sleep (64%) and
eating healthily (61%), followed by
a happy frame of mind (59%) and
good family relationships (57%).
Interestingly women were found
to place more importance on
healthy living than men, whilst
older generations, Baby Boomers
and Gen X, are generally less
satisfied with their health
compared to Gen Y and Gen Z.
In addition the survey found that
most Australians (70%) have had a
medical checkup in the past 12
months.
The majority of Aussies also
confessed to wanting to lose either
a little or a lot of weight (71%),
with women more likely to want to
trim down than men (78% v 64%),
and older generations also keener
to drop weight than younger
Australians (76% of Baby Boomers
and 73% of Gen X, compared to
57% of Gen Z).
Despite this want, only half of
Australians said that they exercised
regularly, while the other half said
they did little or nothing at all.
It also seems that despite sleep
topping the list as the perceived
main driver of a healthy lifestyle,
Aussies only get on average 6.6
hours of shut-eye a night,
compared to the desired 8.3 hours.
The survey also found that
working lives play a big part in
hindering healthy intentions with
respondents citing free snacks in
the office (25%), office location/
long commute (22%), after work
socialising (18%), networking
events and cocktail parties (12%)
and client lunches (9%) as the
major contributors to unhealthy
habits.
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