Gallup World Poll surveys

I’m sharing this report because it’s an eye-opener about how the United Nations views America’s health problems and how they relate to our happiness.

I recently wrote about how happiness should be perceived as already achieved—not something to be constantly pursued. Improving your health might be a better use of your time.

All the top countries in this report tend to have high scores for six of the key variables that support well-being: healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom, trust, generosity and  income.

So how does the UN measure happiness? Happiness is often measured using objective indicators (data on crime, income, civic engagement, and health) and subjective methods, such as asking people how frequently they experience positive and negative emotions.

And the winner is… Finland (followed by Norway, Denmark and Iceland). The Nordic countries have their shit together. Maybe it’s the 2 million+ saunas in Finland, or the fact that it’s home to the world’s happiest immigrants? Or maybe cities are supposed to be built for bicyclists, like in Copenhagen?

There’s also a trending cultural construct called hygge, which is defined as “a quality of cosiness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being.” Hygge also places a priority on social connection to buffer against stress.

As for the U.S.? We’re number 18.

“The most striking fact about happiness in America is the Easterlin Paradox: income per capita has more than doubled since 1972 while happiness (or subjective well-being, SWB) has remained roughly unchanged or has even declined.”

The report also notes three emerging health problems that threaten happiness in the US: obesity, the opioid crisis, and depression.

I particularly love this response: “The evidence points strongly to the change in the American diet after mid-century, with a massive shift toward sugar additives, processed foods, and snack foods.”

Ya think?

Even worse “the cumulative effect of these epidemics is the remarkable recent fall in overall life expectancy at birth, an event that is nearly unprecedented for a high-income country in peacetime.”

Finally, some key problems our country needs to address:

1. Income inequality
2. The above three health problems are mutually reinforcing, i.e. obesity causes depression and depression can lead to obesity and/or substance abuse.

The U.S. healthcare system is miserably inadequate to face these epidemics.

• “The emphasis is on treatment rather than prevention. And healthcare for depression is notably deficient.”

America’s culture and politics of corporate deregulation are partly responsible

• The obesity epidemic can be linked directly to the fast-food industry, especially the aggressive use and promotion of sugar additives and other obesogenic processed foods. The opioid epidemic can be traced in part to the lobbying and direct marketing of major pharmaceutical companies.

Takeaway: Out of 156 countries, the US is 18th in overall happiness. Key ingredients for well-being include longer healthy years of life, more social support, trust in government, higher GDP per capita, and generosity. When in doubt, look at Scandinavia and consider lighting some candles tonight and giving hygge a try.