Researchers create health, happiness index

Courtesy of AP

Staying healthy and happy is a struggle for about half of Americans, according to a massive survey that attempts to measure the nation's general welfare, much like the Dow Jones Industrial Average portrays the health of the stock market. The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, based on interviews of more than 100,000 people so far, shows that 47 percent of Americans are struggling and 4 percent are suffering.

Forty-nine percent of respondents are reported to be thriving based on a personal assessment of how they feel about their lives at the time of the survey, and where they think they'll be in five years. Pollsters asked people to imagine where they would put themselves on a ladder with 10 steps. Those said they were on step seven or above are listed as thriving. Those at four or below are suffering. In between are the strugglers. Those who are thriving tend to have higher incomes, more education and less illness. Those who are suffering have trouble meeting their basic needs, including food, shelter and medical care, said James Harter, Gallup's chief scientist for workplace management and well-being.

Just as the U.S is not No. 1 when it comes to health measures, it also is not No. 1 in well-being, he said. For example, 83 percent of the residents of Denmark are classified as thriving versus 1 percent who are suffering. Researchers hope the findings, which can be broken down by occupation, commute time and exercise habits, will help employers better understand what they can do to create happier and healthier workers. Eventually, they said, the data could even be used to compare health and happiness by ZIP code, creating quite a measuring stick for future generations of politicians.

"There's never been anything quite like it," said Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel Prize winner in economic sciences. "You're getting details about what it's like to live in this country," said Kahneman, a Princeton University professor brought in by Gallup to discuss the potential uses for the data. "What is the experience of the weekend? What is the experience of the weekday for someone who is sick and has to go to work in the morning? We are going to learn a great deal about what are the determinants of actual happiness."

Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, noted that the United States invests more on health care than any country, but that its health care system ranks 37th. "That doesn't sound like we're getting the best value from the investment we're making," Gerberding said. "That fundamentally is something we as a nation are waking up to."

Steve - now this is exciting! We spend so much time berating studies and surveys that are counterproductive and meaningless. Here is a survey that can really set the tone for change. What are the two major factors that most of us strive for? Health and happiness of course. If we can track this Health and Happiness Index annually, the US population may have more impetus to take the necessary steps to improve.