SE Asians happier lot than N. Asians

SE Asians happier lot than N. Asians

Agence France-Presse, Singapore

Political uncertainty and economic worries are making North Asians more stressed and unhappy than their counterparts in Southeast Asia, a survey released here on Monday found.

Food and health supplements company Cerebos Pacific Limited said its survey of 4,700 people aged over 15 in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan found Malaysians to be the happiest lot.

They were followed by Singaporeans and Thais, the Singapore- based company said in a statement.

Respondents from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong however expressed a high level of worry about meeting basic financial needs as well as the poor economy, unstable jobs and political instability.

Their distress was compounded by a lack of family support, Cerebos president and chief executive officer Eiji Koike told AFP.

"The people in Southeast Asia have more time to spend with their families. In North Asia, the family size is getting smaller and they have less time to spend with their families," he said.

"To have more time with the family is the best way to reduce stress levels."

Singaporeans were the most optimistic about the future, with 10 percent feeling "on top of the world" and 85 percent saying they believed they would be as happy or even happier in the near future, the survey results showed.

One in four of those in Singapore who expected to be happier attributed their optimism to "positive thinking" and cited human relationships as the key driver of happiness.

Malaysians and Thais, on the other hand, said their optimism was due to expectations of bonuses and earning more money as well as a positive mindset.

Southeast Asians were also found to "strive for greater balance", the statement said.

Besides spending more time with their families, they were more likely to exercise regularly and keep to a healthy diet than their Northern counterparts, it said.

The survey also found that stress levels had declined in all the countries except Hong Kong.

However it showed that Asians had a very narrow definition of "healthy", Koike said.

"They think 'healthy' just means not falling sick. Asians are not aware that stress can also lead to sickness."