Philips’ Health & Well-Being Index reveals Malaysians feel good but the elderly perceive they have little control over their health and well-being

• Malaysians feel consistently good about their health as they move towards retirement but begin to downgrade their overall health and well-being after 65 years of age.
• This same group is more inclined to believe they have no control over their state of health.
• Although the majority of Malaysians are concerned about age-related and degenerative diseases, many do not practice preventive healthcare that could help ensure better health in the coming years.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – A new study was released today by Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI), which explores the perceptions and behaviour of adult Malaysians (age 18 and above) towards their health and well-being.

The Philips Index: Malaysia’s Health & Well-Being Report 2010 shows that Malaysians are generally happy with their state of health and well-being, scoring the highest Philips Index in Asia Pacific at 71%. However this feeling declines as they reach age 65 years. The elderly population, especially those 65 years and above, rate their overall feeling of health and well-being lower than other age groups and are more inclined to believe they have no control over the state of their health.

The report also shows that Malaysians’ main health concerns for the near future relate to weight gain and aging. They perceive declining vision, high cholesterol, joint pain/arthritis, diabetes and declining hearing as the top potential threats to their health in the next five years. However, preventive healthcare appears to be a low priority as a third of Malaysians rarely or have never visited a doctor for a check-up. In addition, only 31% of Malaysians get the medical tests they are advised to take.

This lack of preventive healthcare, which results in delayed diagnosis and treatment, can lead to higher healthcare costs in later years and is compounded by Malaysia’s aging population, which has doubled in the past two decades to almost 1.4 million according to a report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).¹

“The Philips Index is an insightful social barometer to help improve our understanding of what people think and how they feel about their health and well-being,” said Mr Lee Weng Seong, Managing Director, Philips Group of Companies, Malaysia. “This knowledge enables Philips to understand consumer perceptions and actions related to their health as well as encourage dialogue and debate to overcome barriers in healthcare and other institutions that play an important role and have an impact on the health and well-being of societies around the world.”

Although weight-related health concerns were perceived as a potential health threat, only one in three Malaysians consider themselves to be overweight and weight loss becomes less of a concern as they age. Three quarters of Malaysians aged 55 years and older are not trying to lose any weight, according to the report. This signals a gap between perception and reality as data shows that obesity is a growing concern in Malaysia. The National Health & Morbidity Survey in 2006 stated that 29% of adult Malaysians were overweight and 14% were obese, which means that 43% of adult Malaysians were either overweight or obese².

Some key findings:
 
Health habits among Malaysians are conflicting

Half of the respondents firmly believe the state of their health is something they can control, while a further four in 10 say how they care for themselves makes an important difference in their health. The top five perceived threats to health in the next five years were related to age or weight: declining vision, high cholesterol, joint pain/arthritis, diabetes and declining hearing.

Despite these fears, one in three Malaysians hardly ever or never visit their doctors for regular check-ups and 52% say they hardly ever or never visit a dentist. Only one in five feel comfortable talking to doctors about a medical problem. However, doctors remain the primary source of information when Malaysians are concerned about being sick.

Home is where the heart is

Convenience and safety are the two most important things Malaysians look for when deciding where to live. Factors like safety and crime rate, hospitals, access to healthcare facilities, quality of roads, availability of employment, local schools and waste collection all scored 90% and above.

All in agreement that the future looks bright

Technology plays an important part in improving Malaysians’ lifestyles and many are positive and optimistic about its role. Almost 90% feel that technological advances will fundamentally change our homes over the next 10 years. More than 80% feel medical technology will help them live longer and over 90% feel that medical treatments, diagnosis and general health maintenance have improved with technology. Two-thirds of Malaysians say they would wear a monitor to call for medical personnel in emergencies and use devices that help improve their health and well-being, such as devices that help track calories, activities or plan healthy meals.

About the Philips Index: Malaysia’s Health & Well-being Report 2010
The Philips Index: Malaysia’s Health & Well-being Report 2010 aims to understand the perception of and actions related to people’s health, to provide the government, communities, and healthcare organisations in Malaysia with a collective view of the current status and needs of patients as well as care providers, to ensure considered solutions in addressing healthcare challenges. It examines the mega trends which shape a country’s healthcare, its lifestyle and who we are as a society, determining what aspects of health and well-being are most important, how satisfied people are with them, and the role that technology plays in maintaining better health and well-being.

In order to assess more specifically the state of health and well-being, Philips set 17 items like job, income as well as stress and calculated the Philips Index by multiplying the importance of each item to a person’s health and well-being and the rate of satisfaction of each of them.

The Philips Index: Malaysia’s Health & Well-being Report 2010 is part of a global initiative which is being conducted in over 30 countries around the world.

¹ _{Population Ageing in Malaysia – Active Ageing, Productive Living.  http://www.globalaging.org/pension/world/social/impact.pdf}

² _{National Health & Morbidity Survey 2006, Malaysian Ministry of Health.}