July 25, 2025
Source/Image licensed from Ingram Image
Young adults are emphasizing health over wealth. Older adults can encourage them and offer guidance on how to live healthy.
My search for light at the end of the healthy lifestyle tunnel is never ending. Generations of men have locked into an allegiance to masculine norms that reject preventative care, particularly mental health care. But a slow drip of data and cultural tidbits show signs that new generations may bring change.
Now, these signs of progress are not without counter trends. Increasingly, young men are using social media to espouse hyper-masculine messages, rejecting any form of new masculinity. Nevertheless, the push and pull behind these shifts suggest they are a product of cultural influences outside the narrow scope of any diet or exercise breakthrough. That provides insight into how best to approach behavior change.
From the business world comes a new study designed to guide employers in their recruitment and understanding of younger workers. While its purpose is human resource management, the findings shed light on the changing values these generations place on their health and well-being. The data prompts some interesting comparisons, with clinically-oriented surveys of younger people showing signs of interest in healthy practices.
The EY Global Generations Report 2025 was published in May by the international mega firm formerly known as Ernst & Young. It revealed new preferences among young people based on a survey of more than 10,000 adults, ages 18-34, across 10 countries. The study, conducted last fall, sought to identify how young adults define success. The results clearly represented a change from the traditional aspirations of young people.
Though the study was career-oriented, it has meaning to those of us who track health-related behavioral change. As the Wall Street Journal characterized the findings, young people are 'shifting their focus from wealth to health.'
Indeed, the report shows how traditional markers of success such as wealth, status and occupation are being replaced by mental and physical health, along with family relationships.
Among the 16 factors examined by the survey, physical and mental health was the top-rated measure of success, followed closely by relationships with family and children. Wealth ranked third and occupation was fourth.
That's an interesting shift from the money or nothing attitudes among baby boomers. And while these results and other insights from the research have significant implications for employers, I think it says something about a slow but steady shift in values trending toward an appreciation for health and happiness.
Echoing the EY research is Deloitte Global's 2025 Gen Z and Millennial Survey. Deloitte — another mega firm that examines young workers for business applications — surveyed 23,482 Generation Z members and millennials from 44 countries late last year. The report did not rank the priorities of young adults, but it indicates that well-being and happiness is critical to them in and outside of the workplace.
According to the study, "Gen Zs are more focused on work/life balance than climbing the corporate ladder — only 6% say their primary career goal is to reach a leadership position." While making money maintains its status for this generation, well-being is given equal importance in the findings.
Without question, business leaders seek to maximize the productivity of these generations. It is in their economic interests and a fiduciary responsibility. So, understanding the nuances of Gen Z and millennial beliefs are critical tools used to inform human resource management. That said, the results also inform our broader dialogue about health behavior at large and the influence of culture on behavior among all generations of men (and women). Coexisting tends advancing new views on health and well-being, coupled with intensive promotion of traditional male norms create a complex environment.
A perfect example of the conflicting messages in men's health can be found in one of my 'go-to' sources, an annual survey of men's health conducted by the Cleveland Clinic known as the MENtion It campaign.
Last fall, I highlighted the campaign's most recent survey, which found men say they prioritize their health but take few actions to ensure their longevity. Large percentages of men said they do not get an annual physical or cancer screenings.
The survey results could be read as inconsistent with the EY findings, as it shows that 61% of Generation X and baby boomers get an annual physical, but only 32% of millennials and Generation Z do so. And only 2 of 5 Gen Z members have a primary care physician.
Consequently, the survey shows that younger men — who EY suggests are more concerned about their well-being — are not having their blood pressure, cholesterol or BMI checked on a regular basis, and not availing themselves of what could be life-saving testing.
An alternative interpretation is that the two studies are consistent. If you consider the stated aspirations of men who prioritize their health but don't follow through in the Cleveland Clinic survey, you could infer that the same behavior may be in play in the EY results. Young people may say they prioritize their well-being but may not actually act on these aspirations. It's the gym at work that's barely used. Let's hope not.
Then, of course, there are the headwinds pushing back against any positive developments on the health behaviors among young men. There's an online competition between those who promote hyper-masculine, anti-feminine messages in the "manosphere" and those who advocate for a healthy masculinity that redefines manhood to encourage open conversations about depression and strength with empathy.
In the "manosphere," a mental health diagnosis is viewed as a weakness, young men are taught to never show emotion, and misogynistic context is characterized as male empowerment. It's a global experience where young men are looking to social influencers for their cultural direction and core values. It's a serious situation and flies in the face of these studies that infer a reasoned and well-thought personal reflection aided by access to data on the benefits of good health.
For generations, men have failed to change their allegiance to traditional male norms and outdated definitions of masculinity. The repercussions continue to this day, with shorter life spans and more chronic disease among men than women. For us men 50, the young adults in these surveys are our children, grandchildren and other important people in our lives. It's becoming increasingly clear that cultural influences are driving the values of these young people — not any special diet or exercise program. And that's where we can be influencers.
If you have family or friends (male or female) in these age groups, encourage them to live healthy. Further, recognize the mutual value of a dialogue with younger people, and especially young men. They want and need your support. They need to know there's a huge difference between aspiring to find well-being and achieving it, and that expressing themselves is indeed manly.
Whether the young people you encounter are candidates for EY or Deloitte or not, any inkling of positive change should be embraced and supported. Some of this might just rub off on you.
