Thrive Blog

Since 2008, Gallup and Healthways have measured the well-being of Americans and determined how best to improve well-being and its relationship to important outcomes. Building on these insights, Gallup and Healthways expanded our well-being research to assess and improve well-being globally.

About 7.26 million Americans have gotten health insurance coverage since late last year and 4% of Americans became insured for the first time in 2014.

Despite Americans continuing to view the Affordable Care Act (ACA) more negatively than positively and a federal health exchange website rife with technological glitches, the U.S. uninsured rate has fallen in so far in 2014.

As of Jan. 1, 2014, the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index® transitioned to an updated version. The Well-Being Index now includes a new set of questions, the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being 5™, which is based on extensive collaborative research by Gallup and Healthways. The updated Well-Being Index measures well-being with even more power and scope than previous well-being measurement tools, including the earlier version of the Well-Being Index.

Typhoon Haiyan has left behind chaotic, tangled debris of what used to be vibrant towns and villages in the central Philippines. Images of the destruction are overwhelming to see; it's difficult to fathom living through it. Yet, as I watched this tragedy unfold, I knew Filipinos' resilience would prevail.

Many Filipinos were ill equipped to cope with the devastation of Typhoon Haiyan long before it made landfall. In June, majorities of Filipinos said they struggled to afford food (62%) and adequate housing (55%). Roughly half of the population has consistently reported problems affording food and shelter since Gallup started asking these questions in 2006.

As the U.S. struggles with a rising obesity rate and its effect on national healthcare costs, Americans' dietary and nutritional choices may be more important now than ever before. Gallup's annual Consumption Habits survey provides insight into the decisions Americans make when they dine at restaurants and at home.

Gallup's annual Consumption Habits survey provides insights into Americans' health behaviors -- covering topics ranging from smoking to diet. Gallup has been exploring a number of these behaviors in the United States for years, and has trends on certain metrics dating back to the 1940s.

Most people on the planet see the glass as half full, rather than half empty. That's according to a new analysis that my colleagues, Matt Gallagher and Sarah Pressman, and I put together based on 2009 Gallup World Poll data from 142 countries.

In striking down Mayor Michael Bloomberg's ban on the sale of large sugary drinks, New York Supreme Court Justice Milton Tingling declared it "arbitrary and capricious," stating that it didn't apply fairly to all high-sugar beverages and all types of establishments. The American Beverage Association, which brought the lawsuit against the ban, has called it "unreasonable, unsound, and incongruous."

In an article published last week in Psychological Science: A Journal of the Association for Psychological Science, we examined, along with Matt Gallagher, the link between emotions and health in representative samples from 142 countries collected in 2009 through the Gallup World Poll. Gallup surveyed respondents asking whether they experienced positive emotions -- such as happiness, enjoyment, and love -- and negative emotions -- such as sadness, stress, and worry -- a lot of the day "yesterday." Gallup also asked respondents about their health and their basic access to safety, shelter, and food.

Every week, Gallup.com publishes new well-being findings. Here is a roundup of this week's key insights.

Every week, Gallup.com publishes new well-being findings. Here is a roundup of this week's key insights.

Every week, Gallup.com publishes new well-being findings. Here is a roundup of this week's key insights.

The suicide rate for active-duty U.S. military personnel is at a record high, with 323 confirmed or suspected so far in 2012 -- that is a rate of more than one per day -- according to the Pentagon. The Army and Navy both already broke their respective annual records, while the Air Force and Marine Corps are not far from surpassing their own.

First the good news: In general, Americans are exercising a bit more in 2012 than in past years. In almost every month this year, more Americans reported exercising for at least 30 minutes three or more days per week than did so in the same month each of the past four years.

Americans who spend more of their day using their strengths to do what they do best are less likely to be stressed, worried, and sad. For example, more than half of those who say they only used their strengths for three hours or less the day before the survey reported feeling stressed compared with 36% of those who reported using their strengths for 10 hours or more.

Gallup's annual Consumption Habits survey provides information on everything from who's a vegetarian, to what Americans spend on food, to how many adults drink and smoke. Gallup has been monitoring certain health behaviors in the United States for many years, enabling us to explore long-term trends, some of which date back to the 1940s.

Gallup is out with a special series of articles on women around the world. Gallup analysts mined Gallup World Poll data from more than 140 countries to uncover the areas in which women trail behind men the most.