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9 August 2007
Hong Kong
Key findings from a global health survey conducted by The Nielsen Company has found that headaches, colds, sleeping problems and back ache are the most common ailments, and when it comes to their treatment in an industry estimated to be worth over US$70 billion, consumers tend to opt for self-prescribed medication before visiting a doctor.
According to Nielsen, headaches are the most common health complaints for consumers around the world – and may explain why analgesics are the largest category in the OTC market. Nearly half of those polled in the online survey (42%) claimed to have suffered a headache in the last four weeks, while one in three had suffered a cold, back problem or sleeping problem. One in five suffered from a cough, sore throat, stomach upset or some other kind of pain.
Chart 1
In Hong Kong, flu was reported at its peak season in recent months further evidenced by the fact that 44 percent of Hong Kong people claimed to have contracted to a cold in the past month. Hong Kong people are the world’s second most vulnerable to cold after South Korea (52%). The next most common health complaints among Hong Kong people are headache (37%) and sleeping problems (33%). Meanwhile, 13 percent seemed to be quite healthy and claimed not to have contracted to any sickness recently, although in other words, over 80 percent were suffering from some sorts of health complaints.
Chart 2
The Nielsen Company’s 47-country survey revealed diverse regional differences among populations and their health problems. EEMEA and Latin American consumers suffer more headaches, with more than half in these regions said they had suffered a headache within the last month. Asians (36%) were more susceptible to catching colds than any other region and are more likely to suffer from sore throats, coughs, stomach pain and toothache than they would a back problem, unlike those in North America and Latin America.
Within Asia Pacific, the Nielsen study uncovered some interesting differences between countries - where China has the world’s highest proportion of insomniacs, with four in 10 Chinese claiming to have suffered sleeping problems in the past month, Singaporeans led the world with the highest proportion (37%) suffering from a sore throat, a third of Filipinos were coughing (more than anyone else) and Indonesians top the world with 44 percent suffering flu in the past four weeks.
People in South Korea seemed to be the sickest, suffering from most ailments and topping the global rankings for suffering from colds, indigestion, heartburn and toothaches.
At the other end of the scale, Indians, Japanese and Portuguese were the healthiest, with one in four claiming not to have suffered any health ailments at all in the past month.
What do people do when they fell ill?
Nielsen polled 26,486 internet users in 47 markets from Europe, Asia Pacific, the Americas and the Middle East in May this year, including 500 respondents in Hong Kong.
Interestingly, 11 percent of Hong Kong people would ‘grin and bare’ their health problems and do nothing about them, while on the other end of the scale, Hong Kong led the world with most people opting to see a doctor (51%) when they are ill.
Chart 3
The survey findings reflect some regional differences in the way consumers treat their ailments. In North America, consumers are more likely to seek out pharmacies than visit their doctor. In Europe and Asia, a visit to the doctor came ahead of reaching for non-prescription medication and home remedies.
In Scandinavia and Asia Pacific are also more likely to ‘grin and bare it’ – about one third in Denmark (36%), Norway (33%) and Taiwan (28%) led the global rankings for taking ‘nothing at all’ to cure their health complaint.
47 Markets Covered
Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Czechs Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Thailand, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, UAE, United Kingdom, US and Vietnam.
About The Nielsen Company
The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions and recognized brands in marketing information (ACNielsen), media information (Nielsen Media Research), business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek), trade shows and the newspaper sector (Scarborough Research). The privately held company has more than 42,000 employees and is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands, and New York, USA. For more information, please visit, www.nielsen.com.
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