86% of Americans say they feel healthy as fittest nations revealed

Are you seeking a healthier lifestyle in 2023? Then you may want to head to Japan.

A new poll of 8,000 respondents from Australia, Brazil, Germany, New Zealand, South Korea, Spain, the United Kingdom and the US revealed 15% believed Japan to be the healthiest nation — followed by Switzerland (12%), Sweden (12%), Norway (10%) and New Zealand (9%). 

Nearly four out of five of poll participants say they feel healthy, but the responses vary based on the country. 

Out of the eight countries surveyed, respondents from Spain (91%), Brazil (86%) and the US (86%) claimed they feel healthy — compared to 76% in the United Kingdom, 74% in New Zealand, 74% in Australia and 73% in South Korea.

Meanwhile, respondents from Germany reported feeling the most unhealthy out of the eight nations, with 33% categorizing themselves as currently being “very unhealthy.” 

Commissioned by Noom and conducted by OnePoll, the international study found that across the globe, most respondents defined “healthy” as being physically fit (31%), exercising regularly (31%), being emotionally happy (30%) and getting adequate sleep on a regular basis (30%).

In the US, respondents demonstrated an awareness of the connection between mind and body when it comes to health, reporting that their definition of “health” is both exercising regularly (32%) and being emotionally happy (24%). 

In South Korea, health was all about being stress-free (48%). In New Zealand, it was critical to get adequate sleep (34%). In Australia, the top definition was eating plenty of fruits and vegetables (36%). 

A majority of respondents reported wanting government support in caring for their health — respondents believed that government interventions, like improving access to mental health care (34%), making medications more affordable (24%) and banning artificial preservatives (21%) would all positively affect their health and wellbeing. 

The survey also revealed the biggest issues affecting physical and mental wellness on an international scale, providing even more support and evidence of why health solutions must address the two in tandem. 

When it comes to mental wellness, respondents report struggling to manage stress around general physical health concerns (48%), the economy (43%), finances (41%), their jobs (40%) and personal responsibilities (32%).

Meanwhile, maintaining family and caregiving responsibilities (17%), romantic lives (14%) and friendships (11%) were found to be among the biggest issues impacting physical health.

Fifty-three percent claimed they take their health more seriously since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Similarly, 21% said they have felt more productive on an average day during that same timeframe.

Although overall productivity reportedly increased among respondents, some nations felt their productivity has decreased since the onset of the pandemic. Fifty-four percent of South Korean and 46% of American respondents said their productivity throughout their day-to-day lives has taken a dip.

“It is encouraging to see people across the globe thinking about health in multifaceted, holistic ways, and embracing the mind-body connection,” Saeju Jeong, co-founder and CEO of Noom, said in a statement.

“This realistic approach signals that our society is shifting toward more sustainable health practices, a philosophy that we have believed in since our beginning. We hope to see more digital health organizations promote holistic solutions as it’s clear our industry has a continued opportunity to lead dialogues about what true health looks like and how to maintain it for the long term.”

The survey also revealed a possible partisan divide in how US citizens want their government to play a role in their health: 38% of Americans said they want the government to enact policies to encourage healthier living, while 40% disagreed.

Since the pandemic began, 44% of Americans have picked up good habits in some capacity. The factors that most helped them stick with their habits were having support from family and friends (25%), mental health professionals (25%) and digital health programs (24%).

More than half of them have developed at least five new habits since the start of the pandemic that have now become a part of their daily routine.

But for many, adopting healthy habits is still a challenge. In fact, many shared what they would rather do than make the healthy changes needed to lose weight.

Specifically, they’d rather give up their favorite streaming apps for a year (20%), two weeks of vacation (20%), sex for a year (20%) and social media for a year (18%).