Which countries have the best well-being?
With a growing global interest in fitness, mindfulness and well-being, many populations are prioritising a healthy approach to daily life. To accommodate this demand, plenty of people are turning to a career in the health industry. Studying fitness courses and personal trainer courses has become a strong pathway towards this goal.
Taking into account the booming trend towards nutritious and healthy lifestyles, research company Gallup wished to study international well-being. They created the Gallup-Healthways Global Well-Being Index in 2012 to chart which nations had the best, and worst, well-being. They define well-being as encompassing not only physical health, but also mental health and people's overall outlook on their lives.
Gallup-Healthways Global Well-Being Index
The index works by researching five key areas that make up well-being: sense of purpose, financial security, relationship to community and culture, other social relationships and importantly, physical health. Ten questions from each area are asked to people around the world through their World Poll, and the data is analysed by experts.
The range of questions evaluates if people feel they are in supportive, loving relationships, as well as gauging levels of pride in their community. Their financial stress and anxiety is also considered. The respondents are assessed as either thriving, struggling or suffering in the five areas.
Who came out on top?
Gallup compiled their results to rank which countries have the best well-being. Australia was not in the top 5, and their results may seem surprising as not many strong OECD nations made the list.
- Panama
- Costa Rica
- Denmark
- Austria
- Brazil
The results showed Panamanians had the highest percentage of people thriving in physical health internationally, coming in at 63 per cent. The runner up was Costa Rica at 45 per cent, while Brazil was a close third, with 44 per cent of the population feeling like they have quality physical health.
Australians can continue striving towards a higher ranking of well-being, especially with help from qualified health and fitness professionals.
Posted On 08/04/15
