Healthways (HWAY) and Gallup recently announced the results of the monthly Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index (“WBI”) for July 2011. The overarching WBI measure remained on the higher side at 66.4, just 100 basis points lower than the record score of 67.4 set in May 2010.
Among the WBI sub-components, the Life Evaluation Index, which contains a self assessment of whether Americans are suffering, thriving or struggling dropped to 48.1 in July, a sharp decline from 49.9 clocked in June 2011, besides being a 23 month low. This index also found that 51.7% of Americans were thriving and 3.7% suffering.
The Work Environment Index was low at 47.4 in July, which resulted in the sixth straight month of the poorest scores in the annals of the WBI. The Healthy Behavior Index rallied to 64.6, which was in line with expectations and up sharply from the low of 45.9 in December. This metric benefited from a rise in the proportion of Americans who exercised regularly and consumed fruit and vegetables frequently.
Among the other elements, the Emotional Health Index remained steady at 79.4 in July, which was expected. The Physical Health Index remained relatively unchanged at 77.5, with obesity falling to its lowest level of 25.6% since October 2008.
The Basic Access Index languished at 81.6, near its low of 81.5, in February 2011, during the recession. The proportion of Americans who said that that they had enough funds to buy food at all times dropped to 80.7% in July from 81.6% in June, which is the second time that this metric breached 81% since February 2009.
Healthways is a prominent vendor of specialized and composite solutions, enabling recipients to maintain or improve their well-being and, consequently, reduce systemic healthcare costs. The company’s solutions are intended to keep people healthy and mitigate lifestyle risk factors that can cause disease and optimize care for those with chronic illness. Healthways competes with Express Scripts (ESRX) among others.
Gallup is known for providing timely and pertinent research on opinion. The company employs scientists in disciplines such as economics, sociology, management and psychology. Its consultants identify and monitor behavioral economic indicators on a worldwide basis, thereby enabling companies to increase organic growth.
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