Study finds older Hoosiers rank lower in well-being than national counterparts

The report ranked overall well-being in terms of seniors’ senses of purpose and community, social lives, financial stability and physical health. States were also ranked in each of the individual five categories that determined overall well-being.

Nationally, Gallup found that older Americans and senior citizens have a higher well-being score than people younger than age 55. Americans ages 75 and older rank even higher in overall well-being.

However, older Hoosiers ranked poorly in social and community aspects of their lives, as well as in physical health. This aligns with other Gallup-Healthways studies released this year, which rated Indiana the eighth most obese state in the nation and third worst in overall sense of well-being.

Obesity and depression among older Americans are highest in people ages 55 to 64, the study found, which could be attributed to retirement, said Dayna Thompson, Alzheimer’s disease educator for IU Health Bloomington Hospital.

Without a career, many older Americans lose a sense of purpose, Thompson said. Indiana ranked 16th worst out of the 50 states in the category of “purpose” in the Gallup study.