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Gallup and Healthways Release August 2011 Well-Being Index

^{Published on 2011-09-12 15:01:54 - Market Wire}
 

WASHINGTON & NASHVILLE, Tenn.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Gallup and Healthways, Inc. (NASDAQ: HWAY) today released findings from the monthly Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index^® (WBI) for August 2011. The overall WBI composite score remains relatively high at 66.1. This is the first year-over-year obesity scores have declined since measurement began in 2008. The obesity score was at 25.9% in August, continuing a slow trend in obesity reduction nationally over the course of 2011.

Key findings:

• In the Physical Health Index (PHI), the percentage of respondents who said they felt well-rested yesterday fell nearly two points to 69.0% in August, the lowest level in 12 months. The overall PHI score inched up to a typical 77.5 in July and stayed there at 77.3 in August.
• TheWork Environment Index, which hasna™t been above 49.0 since September 2009, remained low at 47.1 in August, its third-lowest rating since the inception of the WBI.The lowest scores in successive measurement have come in the last seven months.
• The Life Evaluation Index dropped to 47.6 in August, the lowest since July 2009. The 51.5% of Americans that are Thriving is also the lowest since August 2009, and the 4.0% that are suffering is the highest since the 5.1% measured in March 2009.
• The Basic Access Index was close to a recorded low at 81.9 in August as 4.1 million fewer American adults reported easy access to fresh produce than one year ago.
  • The percentage of Americans who have visited the dentist in the last 12 months, which hit its lowest recorded level at 63.9% in May, has finally pulled back up over 65% in August at 65.4%.
  • The percentage of Americans with health insurance finally climbed higher in August at 83.2%, the first time over 83% since March and up 1.2 points from last montha™s 82.0%.
  • Those with a personal doctor rose one point to 78.8% in August, but still nearly two points lower than what was estimated in each of the last three August measurement periods.
• The Emotional Health Index dropped one full point to 78.4 in August, an atypical decline for this time of year. The percentage of Americans without stress aa lot of the day yesterdaya dropped back in August to just 58.5%, down 2.6 points since July and the lowest since February 2009. The percentage of Americans who are without worry aa lot of the day yesterdaya also dropped 2.7 points to 66.1%, the lowest since March 2009.

To download the full August report, click [ here ].

For more on the science and methodology behind the WBI, please visit [ www.well-beingindex.com ].

About Healthways

Healthways is the leading provider of specialized, comprehensive solutions to help millions of people maintain or improve their health and well-being and, as a result, reduce overall costs. Healthwaysa™ solutions are designed to keep healthy people healthy, reduce health-related risks and optimize care for those with chronic illness. Our proven, evidence-based programs provide highly specific and personalized interventions for each individual in a population, irrespective of age or health status, and are delivered to consumers by phone, mail, Internet and face-to-face interactions, both domestically and internationally. Healthways also provides a national, fully accredited complementary and alternative Health Provider Network and a national Fitness Center Network, offering convenient access to individuals who seek health services outside of, and in conjunction with, the traditional health care system. For more information, please visit [ http://www.healthways.com ].