FILIPINOS are among the overworked, overweight, and overwhelmed citizens in Asia. This is according to a new research from Sun Life Financial Asia covering eight markets across the Asia Pacific (APAC). The study shows that: Filipinos set better health as top priority, but show little inclination to act on it Filipinos have Asia’s highest levels of preventable medical conditions Filipinos are most happy in Asia about their health and well-being
“What we are seeing is the emergence of what we’re calling Asia’s ‘Generation O’ — a demographic that is overworked, overweight, and generally overwhelmed,” said Riza Mantaring, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sun Life Financial Philippines.
The findings are a part of a larger survey showing that Asians are most affected by and are concerned about health and lifestyle conditions that are often preventable.Filipinos aged 25 to 55 years are in line with the rest of APAC in ranking personal health as highly important to them (90 percent compared to a regional mean of 86 percent), according to the research.
The Philippines also has the highest levels of family history of chronic illness, and scored the highest in terms of largely preventable health conditions.
The top five barriers to living a healthy and active lifestyle as shown by the research are a mix of habits and factors now typical in a wired, modern world. In the Philippines, the top three barriers were cited as: “lack of health-related activities that interest me” ; lack of good sports and recreational facilities; and lack of accessible sports and recreational facilities.
One measure where the Philippines outperforms the rest of the region is the level of optimism. Filipinos are the most positive about their physical health and mental health.
Meanwhile, the research also showed that while awareness is high around the correlation between lifestyle choices and level of health, there is conversely a low understanding of the real cost of healthcare, leading to inadequate provisions made for healthcare funding in retirement.The first ever Sun Life Asia Health Index is based on the findings of an Ipsos survey conducted between August 21 and September 11, 2014.
