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38
NOV / DEC 2013
I
Healthcare Journal of NEW ORLEANS
The study looked at 1800 American adults
ages 25-64. The study grouped respondents
into three generations, Millenials, Generation
Xers, and Baby Boomers. Interestingly nearly
50%of the people surveyed named their own
generation as the healthiest. For the most
part those surveyed believed themselves
to be relatively healthy even if the major-
ity stated that they needed to lose weight.
More than half indicated that it is possible
to be overweight and healthy, yet almost
70% wanted to lose a significant amount of
weight.
When asked to define “healthy” in their
own words, the results were extremely
interesting:
• 41% said “being healthy/not getting sick”
• 15%or fewer gavemore specific answers
such as getting regular exercise, eating well,
or staying happy.
When asked to choose the top three defi-
nitions of “healthy” from a list, the most fre-
quent responses were:
• Being physically active (49%)
• Eating right (43%)
• Being the right weight (37%)
• Getting the right amount of sleep (23%)
• Managing stress (20%).
Millennials gave greater weight to emo-
tional stability, happiness, and looking good.
Baby Boomers selected health screenings
and being able to pursue hobbies far more
often than either of the other groups. Women
were more likely to choose definitions like
eating well, getting exercise, being the right
weight, and getting regular checkups, while
men were more likely to emphasize being
able to eat all they want and participate in
lifestyle
It is widely agreed that as we try to address escalating
healthcare costs healthcare consumers need to become
more engaged in their own health. Along with prescribed
medicine and treatments, it is crucial that patients
also make the lifestyle changes suggested by their
physicians. And, more and more, consumers are being
urged to and sometimes rewarded (by insurance carriers
and employers) for staying healthier in the first place,
thereby avoiding or delaying the need for healthcare.
But when we ask our patients to be more healthy, what
exactly are we asking? Based on a recent Aetna “What’s
Your Healthy” study conducted by Harris
Interactive, “healthy”may be more of a
moving target than you anticipated.
By Philip Gatto
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