Adequate sleep and exercise. Healthy food and drink. Time for relaxation and rest. They are all influential factors that determine how comfortable we are. Etos investigated how the Netherlands is feeling. How do we feel, compared to last year, now that corona completely turned our lives around? Surprisingly good, actually. Despite the pandemic, we give 'our well-being' a score of 7.2. Just slightly higher than last year (a 7.1). We are again most satisfied with our food habits. And just like in 2019, we are relatively less satisfied with how (much) we move, our inner balance and appearance. In particular, our body shape is critically assessed with a meager 6.6. A striking outcome, especially given the advance of the body positivity movement that encourages us to accept every body shape.
Two thirds of the Dutch are consciously engaged in nutrition
While we started this year with New Year's resolutions to, for example, exercise more, eat healthier and perhaps stop smoking, the pandemic suddenly turned our lives upside down. Etos, with its mission to help the Netherlands feel good every day, has been researching since last year how we are doing in the field of appearance, physical health, dietary habits, exercise and inner balance. What seems? Despite the challenging situation we find ourselves in, we feel pretty good about ourselves (report mark 7.2). We are most satisfied with our dietary habits, which we rate with a 7.5. As many as two thirds of the Dutch are consciously concerned with the amount of fruit and vegetables they eat and/or how much water they drink. Half (also) pay attention to sugars and/or fat in food and four out of ten Dutch people keep an eye on the number of calories. That just might do us good, because there seems to be a connection between what we eat and how we feel. Dutch people who score an insufficient score on how comfortable they are, are usually less conscious about their diet.
Movement and inner balance deserve attention
Eight out of ten Dutch people consider exercise an important pillar for their well-being. In terms of inner balance, this even applies to nine out of ten. Yet, just like last year, we are relatively less satisfied with how (much) we move (6.7) and our inner balance may still improve (7.0). So it's time to give both a little more attention in 2020. If we look at exercise, it is our sports behavior in particular that we are not very satisfied with (5,8). We should probably exercise a little more often ourselves. An extra round of walking after dinner or cycling to work. It doesn't have to be that complicated. In any case, the more often we exercise during the week, the better we feel in general. Inner balance appears to have the most influence on our well-being of the factors studied. How can we improve that balance? With more relaxation, a good night's sleep and more attention to your mental health, you directly influence how well you feel. It may seem easy, but in our busy schedules it sometimes falls short. In particular, the extent to which we experience stress and pressure (6.3) and our sleep pattern (6.6) score relatively low. Reason enough to take it easy this weekend and turn around again!
Critical of our body shape Compared to other factors such as movement and inner balance, our appearance is considered less important for how we feel about ourselves. Judging by the score of 7.1, we are quite satisfied with our appearance. Yet six in ten still think that 'the outside' affects how we feel.
