The majority of residents in the Emirates consider themselves healthy, and are exercising weekly with walking, gym work outs, running and swimming, said a new report from UAE-base health, beauty and wellness platform Enritsch.com.

The survey, which took in several hundred male (55 per cent) and female followers of Enritsch also shows that those aged between 30-39 are more inclined towards health and beauty pursuits (40 per cent).

The majority of respondents - 78 per cent - said they consider themselves healthy with one in three using complementary therapies to aid their fitness and wellbeing.

Topping their wish list for 2017 were commitments to stay fit and healthy (29 per cent), spend more time with family and friends (17 per cent), pursue learning activities (11 per cent), lose weight (10 per cent) and stop smoking (9 per cent). However, 20 per cent of respondents admitted to feeling very or extremely stressed, and 15 per cent feeling stress free.

“The findings show that stress levels appear to be directly associated with employment. Nearly two thirds - 61 per cent - said they will look for new job opportunities in 2017 and one in every two said they would consider a complete career change or pursue further education opportunities,” explained Stefan Ritsch, managing director of Enritsch.
“The majority of very stressed people, both male and female, tend to be those working 50 hours plus a week. These highly stressed individuals are increasingly turning to complementary therapies to help manage their stress.”

Despite work-related stress, 76 per cent of the respondents said overall, they felt happy and get a good night’s sleep.

“Half of the respondents sleep between 5-6 hours per night while 45 per cent sleep between 7-8 hours,” stated Ritsch. “Around one quarter of these do have difficulty in falling asleep with 10 per cent using sleeping aids or herbal supplements to help.

“The good news is that four out of every five people are exercising at least once a week with walking, going to the gym, running and swimming the favourite choices and this no doubt contributes to the fact that 92 per cent of the respondents feel life is good with 87 per cent of them stating they laugh a lot.

“And there is a direct correlation been exercise and sleep patterns with those exercising or getting out into the fresh air at least three times a week having less difficulty falling asleep compared to those exercising twice a week or less.”

Some 90 per cent of those surveyed felt life in the UAE is very rewarding and they feel they can have a positive influence on events in their life. “One in five said they feel they can take on anything life throws at them, though two-thirds said they don’t have enough time to achieve all they want to do. So, it seems people in the UAE are both happy and ambitious.”

The survey also showed that women come out top in being predisposed to regular health checks and complementary therapies.

“More than 60 per cent of women undertake regular health checks compared to 45 per cent of men,” said Ritsch. “And women are also almost twice as likely to use alternative therapies to stay healthy versus men.”

The Enritsch MD says the results point to a good year for wellness providers with only 7 per cent saying they will be looking to rein-in their spend.

“Commitment and wellness interest levels are high with almost all respondents wanting to know more about the latest wellbeing solutions available,” he said. – TradeArabia News Service