MANILA: With 44 percent of Filipino adults over-weight mainly due to insufficient exercise and poor eating habits, the Philippines scores a low 61 points out of a possible 100 in the 2016 Healthy Living Index.
While there has been improvements in the Healthy Living Index scores for some of the other markets, the Philippines slipped from sixth to ninth rank among 15 markets, Malaya quoted the latest report.
The Philippines’ score is also below the regional average of 64, the report said, adding that the Index is the third wave of AIA’s landmark survey of over 10,000 adults per wave across 15 markets in Asia Pacific.
The markets included in the survey are the Philippines, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, Taiwan, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka, said the news portal.
The survey was conducted to understand how people feel about their health and the extent of their health habits, as well as their concerns and hopes for a healthier way of life.
“The lack of improvement in the Philippines’ Healthy Living Index score is alarming and it is important to know why,” Aibee Cantos, Philam Life Chief Executive Officer, reportedly said.
”As the real life company committed to addressing the real life needs of our customers, we are actively helping Filipinos attain total wellness by being not only financially prepared but also by staying active so they can live longer, healthier, and better lives,” he added.
Survey results show that 80 percent of adults in the Philippines say their health is not as good as five years ago.
The report said that this includes 69 percent of adults under age 30, even though this younger age group should be at the prime of their health.
The study also reportedly showed that adults in the Philippines are among the most sleep-deprived in the region.
While Filipino adults would ideally like to get 8.2 hours of sleep a night, the survey showed that in reality they only sleep 6.8 hours on average.
“This sleep deficit of 1.4 hours is one of the highest among the 15 markets,” the survey revealed.
The study further said that 44 percent of adults in the Philippines are overweight due mainly to insufficient exercise and poor food habits, but only 25 percent would like to lose weight.
The survey showed that 74 percent of adults in the Philippines say they exercise regularly, but on average adults in the Philippines exercise only 2.1 hours a week, lower than the regional average of three hours and well below what most experts would recommend.
“Unhealthy eating habits are common – 84 percent of those surveyed said they tend to eat while distracted, 81 percent admitted to eating unhealthy snacks between meals, and 71 percent had their dinners close to bed time,” Malaya quoted the report as saying.
The survey also said that internet addiction is emerging as a modern day threat to healthy living.
“Though Internet adoption is still lower in the Philippines relative to some other markets in the region, internet and smartphone use are growing rapidly and social networking is extremely popular among those who are online,” the report said.
According to the survey, adults in the Philippines only spend 1.1 hours a day on the internet for non-work purposes, much lower than the regional average of three hours.
The report said that there is high self-awareness on the need to do more, and Filipinos welcome help to do more.
“Adults in the Philippines are forthright in admitting that they can definitely do more to improve their health (95 percent),” the study said.
The report said that encouragingly, 21 percent say they have taken major steps to improve their health and 48 percent say that they have taken some small steps in that direction.
”The good news is, Filipinos admit they can do more to improve their health,” Cantos was quoted as saying by Malaya.
