Pharmacy Daily | Aussies want to be healthy

THERE is a disconnect between what Australians know they should be doing to achieve healthy lifestyles and what they are actually putting to practice, according to the first ever Pan-Pacific Healthy Living Index Monitor. Undertaken by life insurance company AIA, the survey looked at responses from 10,200 people aged 18-65 across all education and income levels in 15 countries including Australia, and was designed to gain local insights into perceptions of health and healthy living, as well as to understand the barriers to adopting a healthy lifestyle. According to the results, 97% of Australians place great importance on healthy living, with the key motivators being to enjoy a better quality of life (68%), better mental health (42%), and not getting sick (42%). Despite these figures however there is a disparity between what Aussies know they should do for health and what they actually do, with over half of Australians saying they felt their health was not as good as it was five years ago. In fact the survey revealed that the average health satisfaction score for Australians was just 6.3 out of ten compared to a regional average of 7. The lifestyle habits which Australians see as the way to better living include: eating healthier food (64%); getting sufficient sleep (63%); having a healthy work/life balance (63%); and exercising regularly (59%). However only 22% said they ate healthy food, 20% said they exercised regularly, 25% said they got enough sleep and 30% said they enjoyed a good work/life balance. In terms of healthy eating, the major barrier is the perceived expense (74%), whilst the major barriers to regular exercise include fatigue (43%), not enough time (37%) and laziness (31%). Meanwhile 78% of Australian adults said companies should do more to help them live healthier lives, particularly in regard to ensuring workloads are not excessive and that there is less overtime (74%). The report highlighted the fact that exercise and weight seem to be the major health concerns of Australians, with 90% of respondents saying that they are concerned about obesity in younger people and 78% are worried about their own obesity. Interestingly obesity was ranked of higher concern to Australians, than the consequences of being overweight, such as diabetes. “Being obese can not only predispose you to a range of serious diseases such as diabetes, which is the fastest growing chronic disease in Australia, it can also reduce your life expectancy,” said AIA Australia’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr Pramodh Nathaniel. Moving forward Nathaniel said if Australians want to improve their Healthy Living Index scores for next year, they need 30 minutes of moderate exercise everyday, which can be broken up into blocks of ten minutes (such as parking further away from work), and also need to try to have regular healthy food throughout the day, as well as going to sleep at the same time every night to ensure regular sleep patterns. “In analysing these 15 markets it has become obvious we all need to take responsibility as individuals, family members, partners and employers to help break the cycle and consider the emotional and financial impact of unhealthy living on our families and loved ones,” said Dr Nathaniel.

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