Most adults in Ireland have a positive mood and consider themselves healthy, despite recent major events and relatively poor ratings on fitness, weight and stress.

Most adults in Ireland have a positive mood and consider themselves healthy, despite recent major event such as the pandemic, war in Ukraine and the cost of living crisis.  However, many consider their fitness to be poor and their weight above average, while young adults also appear to suffer heavily from stress.

1. Over 2 in 3 (71%) in Ireland consider themselves healthy.
2. Three quarters (76%) also consider that they have a positive mood, a proportion that is strikingly similar to that seen in 2018 before the Covid 19 pandemic, War in Ukraine or the Cost of Living crisis.
3. Despite this we have a very poor perception of our fitness in Ireland vs. global norms, with 2 in 4 (40%) suggesting they have poor fitness.
4. Similar proportions (37%) also have concerns about their weight, with only half of those aged 35-54 happy with their weight.
5. More than half (52%) of young adults aged 18-35 in Ireland also consider their stress levels to be poor or very poor.

WIN International, the world’s leading association in market research and polling has published the Annual WIN World Survey – WWS 2022 – exploring the views and beliefs of 28,702 respondents in 39 countries across the globe. WIN has released the latest results of the survey to uncover the findings, any improvements, or developments, made globally in various areas related to health, including fitness, weight management, mood, and stress.

HEADLINES – IRELAND

Mapping Health Scores in Ireland

1. As things get back to normal, perception of health falls back 2% v/s 2021 to reach pre-Covid levels again.
2. The drop in the perception came from most demographic, especially from those living in Rest of Leinster (-6%).
3. Most aged 18-34 years (80%) consider themselves healthy.

Economical divide in Self-Perceived Health in Ireland

1. There continue to be an economical divide on health in Ireland, with lower social groups having significantly poor perception on health v/s the affluent group.
2. The perception of being healthy among ABC1 is 78% while being only 65% for C2DE.
3. Even while rating different health aspects, large gaps are seen among the opinion of C2DE when compared to the well off; Ability to do daily task (-8%), Mood (-7%), weight (-7%), Stress (-5%), Fitness (-13%).

Opinion on health aspects

1. Two in three feel that their mood is positive. This has improved in Munster v/s 2018. Those aged 55+ are highly satisfied with their mood (86%). Even most countries around the world rate themselves as good on the metrics.
2. Just over half in Ireland rate their fitness as good (+3 v/s 2021), but 40% believe it is poor. The perception has improved among those aged 55+ and from ABC1. Those in mid-age groups and those from more downmarket groups struggle with fitness. Globally, Ireland performs very poor v/s other countries.
3. Three in five (62%) in Ireland rate their weight as good, with almost 2 in 5 rating it as poor. The perception is weaker among 35-54 y.o. (54%) and those living in Munster (53%). On global level, Irish have poorer opinion on weight than rest of the world.
4. 3 in 5 Irish think they do good with stress. However, there is an age discrepancy noted with younger cohorts having most difficulty dealing with stress and this easing with age. Globally, Irish stress levels are weaker than average.
5. Vast majority in Ireland (89%) can do daily activities on their own. This is high across all demographics as well. The ability is vastly positive across most country and only gets a little concerning for Kenya (54%) and Ecuador (69%).

Richard Colwell, C.E.O., RED C Research, said:

“The Irish people appear to have dealt with adversity well, with positive mood and good health ratings reported this year despite the Covid Pandemic, war in Ukraine and the cost of living crisis.  However, behind the positive news there are concerns about that general fitness and weight appears to be an issue for many of the population, particularly those in the squeezed middle age group. The fact that we again see evidence of really high reported levels of stress among the younger population, suggests more needs to be done by government to better understand the stress the youth in Ireland are under and act to improve the situation.”

HEADLINES WORLD

Mapping Health Scores around the World

• The country with the highest reported levels of poor health is Poland, with a total of 49% of respondents citing either “very” or “quite” poor health. Meanwhile, Mexico and India stand out for their high levels of self-perceived good health, with 88.3% and 91.5% of respondents rating themselves as “very healthy” or “healthy”, respectively.
• There are notable differences between regions, with Europeans being more likely to report “somewhat unhealthy” or “unhealthy” (28.8%) compared to respondents from the Americas (24.6%), Middle East and North Africa (19.5%), and Asia-Pacific (17%).

Gender Disparities in Self-Perceived Health

• According to our global data, there is a disparity in how men and women perceive their health. Nearly 20% of men describe themselves as “very healthy,” compared to only 15% of women. Conversely, more women than men (20.8% versus 17.4%) consider themselves “somewhat unhealthy.”
• The perception around weight and fitness also varies. A total of 23.1% of men state that their fitness is “very good” as opposed to 16.5% of women. On a global scale, women are also more concerned about their weight, with 32.8% of women rating their ‘weight’ as either “quite poor” or “very poor” versus 27.2% of men.
• Countries which ranked their fitness levels best, “very good” or “quite good”, include Vietnam (94.8%) and South Korea (83.1%). While countries who ranked their fitness levels lowest, “quite poor” or “very poor” consisted of Serbia (50.2%) and Germany (48.6%).

High Post-Pandemic Stress and Rising Costs on Young Adult Health

• As the world slowly emerges from the grip of the pandemic, our data reveals that global stress levels remain alarmingly high. With 40.3% of participants rating their overall stress levels as “quite poor” or “very poor”. More specifically, the most impacted countries include Peru, 64.1% of respondents reported “quite poor” or “very poor” stress levels, while in the Philippines, 55.5% of respondents said the same.
• The findings suggest that many people continue to struggle with the mental and emotional toll of the past few years. Notably, this figure marks a 7.5% increase from 2021, indicating a growing trend of stress and anxiety across the globe.
• Interestingly, the age group most impacted by negative stress and mood are the youngest surveyed (aged 18-24), with 46.2% reporting “quite poor” or “very poor” stress levels and 23.5% reporting “quite poor” or “very poor” mood. This is different to respondents aged 65+ who have reported “very good” or “quite good” mood at 83.6% and 67.9% stating “very good” or “quite good” stress levels.

 Vilma Scarpino, President of WIN International Association, said:

“The results of the 2022 Annual WIN World Survey highlight important differences in how men and women and different age groups perceive and prioritize their health, as well as the concerning trend of rising stress levels globally. As we continue to navigate the ongoing impacts of the pandemic, it is crucial that we address these disparities and provide support to those who may be most vulnerable to health risks.”

-ENDS-

Media enquiries:

IRELAND DATA

Richard Colwell, C.E.O., RED C Research

Derek Bell, Associate Director, RED C Research

+35318186316

[email protected]

WORLDWIDE DATA

Elena Crosilla, WIN Coordinator

+39 335.62.07.347

E-mail: [email protected] NOTES FOR EDITORS

Methodology:

The survey was conducted in 36 countries using CAWI / CATI / F2F/ TAPI /online survey methods.

Sample Size and Mode of Field Work:

A total of 29,739 people were interviewed. See below for sample details. The fieldwork was conducted during October 9th and December 10th, 2022. The margin of error for the survey is between 4.4 and 2.5 at 95% confidence level.

The global average has been computed according to the covered adult population of the surveyed countries.

About RED C:

RED C are premier providers of research-based consultancy services, with offices in Dublin and London. Founded in Dublin in 2003, we have been providing high quality research and polling based consultancy services to business, communities and government both nationally and internationally for many years.  We are part of the Business Post group house of brands, delivering insight through data, journalism, analysis and storytelling.  We help brands grow by clearly understanding human needs and behaviour.

About WIN:

The Worldwide Independent Network of Market Research (WIN) is a global network conducting market research and opinion polls in every continent.

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In the years, WIN has demonstrated wide competences and ability to conduct multi-country surveys following the highest standards requested by the market. The accumulated expertise of the Association is formidable: among others, researched themes are gender equality and young people, communication and media research, and brand studies.

Win World Survey – Health Index Irish Results

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