6 in 10 Asia Pacific Consumers See Their Health as Less Than Ideal, More Exercise and Healthy Eating Key for Improving Physical and Mental Health – Herbalife Nutrition Survey

HONG
KONG SAR – Media
OutReach – 4 October 2021 – Premier global nutrition company, Herbalife Nutrition, today released findings from the Asia Pacific
Health Inertia Survey 2021, which revealed that six in ten consumers in
the region said that their current mental and physical health were less than
ideal (‘fair’ or ‘poor’), outnumbering those who felt that they were ‘good’,
‘very good’ or ‘excellent’. Compared to a year ago, Asia Pacific consumers were
split over whether the state of their health is better or worse.

For those who saw a deterioration in their physical health in the past 12
months, seven in ten (69%) attributed it to the lack of physical activity,
followed by eating more unhealthy food (36%) and lack of community support to
keep up with exercise regimen (26%). When it comes to mental health deterioration,
the key reasons included stress over work uncertainties (54%), staying home
more often due to movement restrictions (53%), and the lack of social
interactions (42%).

For the respondents
who saw an improvement in their physical and mental health compared to 12
months ago, the common contributing factor was more exercise. Other factors
included consumption of healthier meals, community support and more personal
time and space.

“The pandemic has
dampened people’s enthusiasm and energy. However, there is a high awareness of
the crucial role that regular exercise, healthy eating and community support
play in enabling better overall well-being. This points to an urgent need for
us to motivate consumers to take back their health, and move forward with a
healthy, active lifestyle supported by good nutrition,” said Stephen Conchie,
Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Herbalife Nutrition Asia Pacific.
“With our Virtual Run and Get Moving with Good Nutrition campaign back for the
second year running, we are bringing together the key elements of physical
activity, better nutrition choices and an uplifting community to help people
restart their healthy living journey.”

Conducted in July and August 2021, Herbalife Nutrition’s Asia Pacific Health Inertia Survey 2021 polled
5,496 consumers aged 18 and above in 11 Asia Pacific markets, including Australia,
Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan,
Thailand and Vietnam. The survey
revealed insights into the impact of the pandemic on consumers’ health, as well
as their attitudes and behaviors towards improving their well-being.

Many Started Eating Healthier, Exercising
More

Despite most Asia Pacific consumers seeing the current state of their
health as less than ideal, many have taken the first step out to eat healthier
and exercise more as a result of the pandemic.

54% consumers in the region said they started eating healthier, with the
trend being most evident in Vietnam (78%), Indonesia (75%) and the Philippines
(73%). Among those who said they started to eat less healthily due to the
pandemic, the number one factor was the ability to easily access unhealthy
snacks.

The survey also revealed that 42% consumers started exercising more
because of the pandemic. For
those who exercised less during the pandemic, most claimed to exercise 1 to 3
days less per week, citing lack of personal motivation to exercise, lack of
space at home to exercise, and the inability to access gyms and fitness centers
as the main reasons.

Technology Key in Enabling Healthy
Active Behaviors

With the digital wave
sweeping across countries in Asia Pacific, technology and social media is also
playing a more important role to support healthy active living.

One in two (56%)
consumers now use technology tools such as publicly available virtual fitness
classes and videos (42%), fitness trackers (39%), fitness and workout apps
(34%) and nutrition apps (31%) to support their healthy living regimen.

More consumers also
found that social media had a positive influence (33%) on their mental health
than a negative influence (19%).

Those who indicated
social media as having a positive effect cited the following factors:

• Reading
  of inspirational/motivational content (60%)
• Viewing
  of humorous/light-hearted content (58%)
• Inspiration/motivation
  from social media influencers (50%)

Clear Desire to Kickstart Healthy
Active Lifestyles

When asked about
their plans to adopt healthy active living habits in the next 12 months, an
overwhelming majority (88%) of consumers said that they plan to eat more healthily,
while 79% plan to exercise more.

Among the steps that
they would take to eat more healthily include:

• Drink
  more water (70%)
• Incorporate
  more fruits and vegetables into my meals (61%)
• Reduce
  my consumption of sugar and sweets (61%)

Key actions that they
would take to exercise more include:

• Create
  a specific routine that incorporates regular exercise (64%)
• Influence
  family and friends to exercise together physically or virtually (38%)
• Purchase
  exercise equipment to work out at home (35%)

Herbalife Nutrition Virtual Run 2021
Spurs Momentum for Healthy Active Living

Herbalife
Nutrition’s annual Virtual Run will make its return from October 1 to October
31. Organized
as part of the Company’s Get Moving with Good Nutrition campaign, which aims to
spark widespread action towards living a healthier life, the run will take
place in 11 markets including Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea,
Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

Herbalife Nutrition’s
Virtual Run 2020 saw more than 14,000 participants clocking close to 600,000
kilometers across Asia Pacific. This year, the Virtual Run has set bigger and bolder
goals, supported by a wider range of engagement platforms and digital content
to equip Asia Pacific consumers with healthy living tips and tools, as well as to help them
foster a supportive community on their running journey.