NEWS. . . BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
The UK now holds the most depressing position in the world, with the exception of one country, according to a “worrying” new report on intellectual well-being.
With the Covid pandemic still fresh on other people’s minds and with many others suffering from the cost-of-living crisis, it’s not entirely unexpected that Britain isn’t among the most sensible on the list when it comes to wellbeing.
However, the weakness of our effects is alarming.
Only Central Asian country Uzbekistan ranks lower: the UK ranks 70th out of 71 for overall intellectual well-being, giving it an average score of 49 to 65 globally.
The British government is currently advising against everything that is still essential on parts of Uzbekistan’s border with Afghanistan, and around 17% of the citizens of this Central Asian state live below the poverty line, according to the Asian Development Bank .
The new report, produced by researchers at the US think tank Sapien Labs, shows that intellectual well-being in 2023 has still recovered to pre-pandemic levels.
It focuses on mood and perspective, social self, dynamism and motivation, adaptability and resilience, cognition, and mind-body connection.
Based on responses from more than 500,000 people in 71 countries, the experts said the low scores of the richest countries are explained by early smartphone use, ultra-processed food (UPF) intake, and the breakdown of friendships and family ties, in other words, loneliness. . .
The highest proportion of people who reported living in Britain, Brazil and South Africa, and 35% of respondents in the UK said they were distressed or struggling.
The well-being of people over 65 years of age has remained stable, although for the other age groups.
Alarmingly, young people appear to be the most affected in eight English-speaking countries, and the intellectual well-being of 18- to 24-year-olds appears to be the slightest improvement since 2020.
In the UK, the figures point to a difficult time for young adults and poorer families in particular, who have faced two economic downturns in just four years, an acute cost-of-living crisis and an asset market marked by rising rents and space. prices.
Waves of political chaos in Westminster over the replacement of the prime minister and scandals such as Partygate have not helped to boost confidence.
At the same time, the intake of ultra-processed foods was found to lead to a particularly decline in intellectual well-being at all ages: around 60-70% of the food consumed in the UK and US was made by the US and the US in the UK. UU. se classified as such.
More than a fraction of those who consume ultra-processed foods report misery and suffering in their intellectual well-being, compared to only 18% of other people who rarely or never do so, according to the study.
In the eight English-speaking countries analysed since 2019, the UK, the average MHQ score fell by 8% between 2019 and 2020.
By contrast, only 26% of people in Tajikistan, Bangladesh and Syria say they are distressed or struggling.
Yemen, where an estimated 21. 6 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, scored 59 for intellectual well-being, higher than the UK, Ireland and Australia.
The least wealthy countries in Africa and Latin America are the most productive in terms of welfare, with the Dominican Republic in first place, followed largely by Sri Lanka and Tanzania.
The number of people reporting misery or hardship increased, especially between the pre-pandemic era and 2023, and has remained virtually unchanged in all countries.
The scientists who conducted the study said: “Overall, the findings of this report paint a worrying picture of our post-pandemic outlook and we urgently want to better perceive the drivers of our collective intellectual well-being so that we can align our ambitions and goals with authentic human prosperity.
Mental well-being has been explained as an individual’s ability to take charge of life’s stress and general adversities and make a productive contribution to society.
The anonymous online MHQ survey assessed cognitive and emotional talents to give an overall intellectual well-being score.
A negative score indicated that the user was distressed or struggling, between 0 and 50 meant they were holding on, 50 to a hundred was succeeding, while between one hundred and two hundred was a success or was thriving.
The United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia scored lower in terms of motivation and dynamism, while Bolivia, India, Pakistan and Kazakhstan scored higher than the countries ranked.
The assessment had an information bias because the survey was only open to other people with internet access in their country, meaning that respondents in a less evolved country would likely be more prosperous and more educated, making their situation more similar to that of other typical countries. people in evolved countries. Sapien Labs founder and lead scientist, Dr. Tara Thiagarajan told DailyMail. com.
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