APAC is physically healthier but mentally struggling: study

Almost half of the Asia Pacific region say they are physically healthier than before the pandemic, yet a quarter also say they are anxious and/or depressed, reveals a four-country study by Wunderman Thompson that examines health behaviours, attitudes and triggers across physical, mental, relational and financial health, and how each impacts the other.

Why it matters

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to surge and dip, insights into APAC’s post-pandemic health landscape will help governments, businesses, healthcare providers and health brands to better understand consumers at a time when health is top of mind and under threat.

Key insights

• The APAC region scores 6.6 on a scale of 1–10 for overall health; respondents from India report feeling the healthiest at 7.6, followed by China (7.2), Singapore (6.1) and Japan (5.3).
• 45% of respondents say they are physically healthier than before the pandemic and 71% declare physical health “very much” a priority, but their mental health has taken a beating.
• A quarter of the region is struggling with anxiety and/or depression; 45% of respondents say being mentally down makes them less productive and 40% say they exercise less.
• To cope with life in a pandemic, 19% of respondents are smoking more, 21% are drinking more alcohol and 73% are spending more time on screens as these activities make them feel good and/or are a social lubricant.
  
• Indians report feeling the most financial stress and Japanese the least. However, Japanese lead in depression.
• China and India are the biggest app adopters; Indians are also most likely to use blood pressure apps at 39% (versus 24.4% overall) and fitness apps at 40.4% (versus 27.9% overall).  
• The Chinese are ahead in using sleep apps with 40.3% of Chinese respondents saying they use them versus 21.7% overall.

Background

The findings are based on an online survey of 4,000 people aged 18–70+ in China, India, Japan and Singapore conducted between February and April 2021.