SWS: 57% of Filipinos choose health over love and money

Fifty-seven percent of adult Filipinos said they will choose health over love and money, results of the latest Social Weather Stations survey showed.

Compared to December 2019 or before the pandemic, the SWS poll—conducted from December 12 to 16 last year—revealed that preference fell by 13 points from 70%.

Meanwhile, preference for love rose to 31% from 23%, while preference for money increased to 11% from 7%.

The survey also found 84% saying they were more attracted to a person's brains than body, while 15% said the opposite.

The percentage of those who prefer brains over body rose to 84% from 81% in December 2019.

The poll also found that 53% of Filipinos were very happy with their love life, while 28% said it could be happier. Eighteen percent said they do not have a love life.

When forced to choose, more women than men choose health over love and money.

Overall, the poll showed that 60% of women prefer health over love and money —six points higher than the 54% among men with the same view.

The percentage of those who prefer health over love and money was the highest among women with live-in partners (86%), followed by single women (63%), and those who were married (52%).

Among women, the percentage of those who prefer health over love and money was highest among college graduates (64%), followed by junior high school graduates (62%), elementary graduates (59%), and non-elementary graduates (52%).

Among men, the percentage of those who prefer health over love and money was also highest among college graduates (58%), followed by junior high school graduates (55%), elementary graduates (53%), and non-elementary graduates (48%).

The poll showed that the percentage of those who prefer brains over body was slightly higher among women (88%) than among men (81%).

Among women, the percentage of those who prefer brains over body was highest among single women (90%), followed by women with live-in partners (89%), and married women (86%).

In terms of age, women who prefer brains over body were highest among the 18-24-year-olds (91%), followed by the 24-34-year-olds (89%), the 35-44-year-olds (87%), the 45-54-year-olds (86%), and those 55 years old and above (86%).

For men, it was higher among those 18 to 54 years old, ranging from 82% to 87%, than among those 55 years old and above, at 73%.

In terms of education among women, preference for brains over body rises was highest among college graduates (92%), followed by junior high school graduates (88%), elementary graduates (86%), and non-elementary graduates (84%).

For men, preference for brains over body hardly varies with education, ranging from 77% to 83%.

The survey also revealed that 56% of men said they were very happy with their love life, statistically equal to the 51% among women.

Further, SWS said in general, married men and women have a happier love life than their single and live-in partner counterparts.

The percentage of those with a very happy love life was highest among married men (68%), followed by men with a live-in partner (65%) and single men (26%).

Among women, those with a very happy love life were also highest among those who were married (62%), followed by those with a live-in partner (60%), and those who were single (27%).

The percentage of those with a very happy love life was higher among men 35 years old and above, ranging from 59% to 60%, than among men 18 to 34 years old, ranging from 40% to 52%.

For women, those with a very happy love life was higher among those 25 to 54 years old, ranging from 51% to 65%, than among the 18-24-year-olds (47%) and those 55 years old and above (41%).

The survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews of 1,440 Filipino adults, with 360 each in Balance Luzon, Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao.

The sampling error margins were at ±2.6% for national percentages and ±5.2% for Balance Luzon, Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao. — BM, GMA News