For those looking forward to a large Christmas lunch and a few cold beers this festive season there is good news to consider: Australian financial advisers have generally deserved the break.
According to a survey, advisers are exercising more than the average, getting more sleep and are actively putting healthy habits into practice.
However, this does not mean carte blanche with the à la carte this summer as the majority indicated they are still looking to lose a little more weight.
The AIA Australia Healthy Living Adviser Index was applied to more than 70 advisers attending the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) conference on the Gold Coast in late October, collectively achieving a Healthy Living Index score of 65 out of a possible 100.
This figure is five points higher than the latest index score of 60 achieved by the broader Australian public in the AIA Australia 2012 Healthy Living Index (HLI) Monitor.
According to the survey, which covered perceptions, actions and satisfaction levels around healthy living, financial advisers spend more time exercising during the week than the average Australian.
Super-charged advisers
An impressive 94 per cent of advisers said they exercised for at least an hour a week compared to 66 per cent of respondents in the HLI.
The super-charged advisers polled also indicated they put in more hours at the upper end of the fitness scale, with 25 per cent saying they exercised for seven hours or more a week. This was double the proportion of average Australians of whom only 12 per cent said they exercised for seven plus hours per week.
“It’s great to see advisers are really leading the charge on engaging in healthy living behaviors and attitudes,” said AIA Australia general manager, life insurance, Damien Mu.
Despite being more active, advisers were also more concerned about weight loss with 82 per cent saying they would like to lose weight compared to 71 per cent of HLI respondents.
However, the desired amount of weight loss for advisers was less than the general public.
Sleep on it
The broader HLI found Australians believe getting enough sleep to be the number one driver of healthy living.
Financial planners want on average 7.76 hours sleep per night, less than the average 8.3 hours desired by the average Australian, but they still manage 6.82 hours per night compared with 6.6 hours for the general public.
“For advisers, health and wellbeing can be a more natural conversation starter when discussing with clients their risk needs,” Mu said.
“These findings are an interesting point of difference to share in those conversations and AIA Australia is actively working with our adviser partners to provide solutions that make those conversations and services easier, to address Australia’s underinsurance problem.”
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