Senior Healthy Living Survey
by 
Executive Summary
The Senior Healthy Living Survey by SilverSneakers is conducted by global intelligence company Morning Consult. The survey is fielded monthly among a national sample of adults 65 and older who are enrolled in Medicare Advantage.
The mission of the Senior Healthy Living Survey is to serve as a primary voice of seniors nationwide in the areas representing all aspects of our mission. Harnessing this voice with rigor, and a focus on future-state, to anticipate the needs of seniors tomorrow while driving the thought leadership and product development of today.
Each survey includes a fixed set of questions on healthy behaviors along with a dynamic set of questions that cover timely topics imperative to our myriad stakeholders
Key Findings
- Participation in physical activities is up this month following a decrease last month. In March, 22% of Seniors reported not participating in any physical activity (-4pts vs. Feb). Most Seniors participating in physical activity prefer to do so at home (69%) (+3pts vs. Feb), compared to in the community (26%) (+5pts vs. Feb) or at a gym (16%) (+/- 0pt vs. Feb).
- Lack of motivation (37%) (-9pts vs. Feb) remains the top reason why Seniors are not participating in physical activity; however, the share is down considerably since last month. Experiencing chronic pain (32%) (-4pts vs. Feb) is also down this month whereas recovering from an illness/surgery (15%) (+5pts vs. Feb) is up compared to February.
- Better weather (28%) (-1pt vs. Feb) continues to be the top motivator for Seniors’ whose level of physical activity is the same or worse compared to 3 months ago. With the onset of warmer weather, we should expect more participation in physical activity. 43% of Seniors whose level of physical activity is better compared to 3 months ago say the reason for their improvement is better weather (+17pts vs. Feb).
- Less than a quarter (24%) of Seniors feel lonely in March, the same rate as February. This month, 35% of Seniors feel they lack companionship (+/-0pts vs. Feb), 31% feel left out (+/-0pts vs. Jan), and 31% (-2pts vs. Jan) feel isolated from others.
Previous Survey Results
2024
2023
2022
2021
