Americans' Top Health Concern Is Anxiety

BELLEVUE, Wash. — Stress is the top health condition that American households are actively treating or preventing, replacing being overweight, according to the Hartman Group's Health + Wellness 2019 report.

Sixty-three percent of consumers say they are treating or preventing anxiety or stress, compared to the 61 percent who are treating or preventing being overweight. This is primarily driven by consumers preventing health conditions, particularly among millennials and members of generation Z.

Although weight is still seen as a key indicator of overall health, mental/emotional health is becoming a more prominent aspect of consumers' understanding of health and wellness, Hartman Group found.

"Cultural assumptions about what health and wellness encompasses continue to evolve, especially as consumers gain greater awareness of the dynamic connections between body and mind within a national mood that feels generally anxious and uncertain," said Laurie Demeritt, CEO of The Hartman Group.

"Our Health + Wellness 2019 report finds that layered onto a more proactive approach to wellness is a heightened sentiment in many of feeling anxious and overwhelmed — by information and messages, by lifestyle ruts that can feel inescapable, by daily work-life balance, by polarizing politics and by big issues like climate change," she added.

More information on Hartman's Health + Wellness 2019: From Moderation to Mindfulness is available here.

Image credit: Personal Trainer Academy