Study: Americans Not As Optimistic Or Realistic About Their Health & Well-being As They Claim To Be

[HuckleB]

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/176016.php

"As the country begins a new year and continues to contemplate major issues like financial recovery and nationwide healthcare, a new study released by Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) shows that three-quarters of Americans feel generally positive about their overall health and well-being. But a closer look shows that despite Americans' claims and culture of stalwart optimism, there are some surprisingly large gaps between the reported sense of overall optimism and how satisfied consumers actually are about the factors that make up individual health and well-being. According to the data, Americans are maintaining their optimism, but when asked about contributors to their health and well-being, several important factors are chipping away at their positive outlook for the coming year.

...

The data show that 74 percent of Americans rate their overall health and well-being as very good or good, with men being slightly more optimistic than women. In a similar study conducted by Philips in 2004, respondents reported the same level of positivity when asked about their physical health. However, after balancing how Americans feel about various aspects of well-being versus how important each of these is to them, the overall weighted Philips Index is 55 percent - a 19-point drop. This weighted approach also shows that the area of greatest concern is jobs and economic security (39 percent), while Americans are most content with their friends and family life (69 percent). In fact, nearly three-quarters of the country (74 percent) admit that the economy is a top concern - up from 40 percent in 2004.

Katy Hartley, Director of The Philips Center for Health and Well-being, notes, "The Index reveals that Americans are struggling to remain optimistic as they balance concerns about personal finance, stress and the ability to spend quality time with friends and family. The data also show that Americans think they are far healthier than other national data proves."

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I think this spells out many of the contradictions of Americans going way back, but what do I know?

:shrug: