Most U.S. women struggle to prioritize their health: report

Washington — More than 3 out of 5 women in the United States – younger women in particular – find it difficult to prioritize their own health, a new report shows.

Over 4,000 women were surveyed in April by Gallup, a management consulting and research company, and Hologic, a women’s health care product company. The organizations’ intent was to better understand the state of women’s health in the country.

Of the 63% of respondents who find it hard to prioritize their own health, 51% said work gets in the way. Other top reasons:

• It’s too overwhelming (72%)
• Mental or emotional health gets in the way (60%)
• Caring for family members takes precedence (58%)
• Not enough time (54%)

Other findings:

• Gen Zers and millennials were at least 10 percentage points more likely to indicate they didn’t have enough guidance or information from health care professionals.
• Among the women with kids at home, 75% said that prioritizing their health was hard, compared with 58% of those without kids at home.
• Overall, half of the women said their mental and emotional health is their top concern, followed by sleep (47%), weight (40%), nutrition/diet (37%) and chronic conditions (35%).

“Women facing barriers to prioritizing their health while they are young could suffer from significant long-term effects,” the report states. “Taking care of one’s health early can be key to ensuring stable health and well-being later in life.”