Researchers devise health, happiness index to monitor moods much as Dow Jones does stocks
Washington - Staying Healthy and happ is a struggle for about half of Americans, according to a massive survey that attempts to measure the nation’s general welfare, much like the Dow Jones Industrial Average portrays the health of the stock market.
The Gallip-Healthways well-being index, based on interviews of more than 100,000 people so far, shows taht 47 percent of Americans are struggling and 4 percent are suffering. Forty-nin percent of respondents are reported to be thriving based on a personal assessment of how they feel about their lives at the time of the sruvey, and where they think they will be in five years.
Pollsters asked people to imagine where they would put themselves on a ladder with 10 steps. Those who said they were on step seven or above are listed as thriving. Those at four or below are suffering. In between are the strugllers.
Those who ar thriving tend to have higher incomes, more education and less illness. Those who are suffering have trouble meeting their basic needs, including food, shelter and medical care, said James Harter, Gallup’s chief scientist for workplace management and well-being.
Just as the United States is not No. 1 when it comes to measures of the health of its people, it also is not No. 1 in well-being, he said. For example, 83 percent of the residents of Denmark are classified as thriving versus 1 percent who are suffering.
Researchers hope the findings, which can be broken down by occupation, commute time and exercise habits, will help employers better understand what they can do to create happier and healthier workers.
Eventually, they said, the data could even be used to compare health and happiness by ZIP code, creating quite a measuring stick for future generations of politicians.
