Americans have spoken and they feel fine.

According to Gallup-Healthways’ “Monthly U.S. Well-being Report” in September, adults of all demographics evaluated their well-being at an index of 66.7.

“The index is considered a composite number of six sub-categories,” said Eric Nielsen, senior director for Gallup’s media strategies. “Well-being” comprises a combination of emotional and physical health, basic access to necessities, healthy work environment and behaviors, and a general life assessment.

Since the Gallup-Healthways poll began its monthly surveys in January 2008, the highest index was 67.0, recorded in both August 2009 and February 2008.

While September’s index is down 0.4 percent from the August index, Nielsen said there is an upward trend that shows Americans are slowly climbing out of the wake of the economic slump, which left them feeling less than optimistic.

“The single most important [category] is the so-called ‘Life Evaluation,’” Nielsen said.

In this category, the participants are asked to rate their current overall condition on a scale of zero to 10, 10 being the best. Then they are asked how they imagine their lives will be five years from now, again on a scale of zero to 10.

If a composite score of 66.7 sounds low, Dan Witters, a Gallup research consultant, said he actually doesn’t foresee numbers going any higher than 70 “until we set out to lead healthier lives, change how we visualize our health and talk about our well-being.”

Nielsen said the number 66.7 “shows that there are certainly some [people] that are better [off].”  He said the survey shows that people are doing well, despite gloomy outlooks on the current economic state.

Witters pointed out that in the past 21 months, there has been “less than a four-point range.” He said numbers will continue to fluctuate, but not hit any extremes.

Given the context, improvement was seen in all age groups, including the youngest category which comprises adults aged 18 to 29. The poll reported that this category averaged its well-being above the national mean, at the rate of 67.5.

The survey shows that the most dramatic shifts have been for adults older than 65. This group’s ratings plummeted between October and December 2008. However, youngsters can look forward to being senior citizens because seniors’ ratings have been consistently higher than any other group.

The September poll found that Asian citizens rated their well-being the highest, at 69.3. Following that was the score for whites at 67.5. Latinos and blacks rated their well-being at 64.6 and 63.8, respectively.

Michelle Lee, a first-generation Korean-American, said that she has observed that most Asians are physically healthier than Americans purely “because of the difference between the overall diets.”

She said Americans eat more dairy and less protein than Asians.

Now a junior at Harold Washington College, Lee spent the first 10 years of her life in the U.S., followed by 10 years in Korea.

The Midwest as a whole had the lowest ranking in the country for healthy behavior. However, the region also ranked its emotional health as well as its access to basic necessities, highest in the country.

All regions showed a severe decrease at the end of 2008 from October to November and December, when experts say the economy took a turn for the worse.

Nielsen said he believes communities should look at their local statistics to assess the needs of their residents. This could help governments and organizations target the problems that truly plague their cities.

The national average well-being index for 2008 was reported at 65.5.

According to monthly survey results, the number of struggling people is decreasing while the number of thriving people has consistently increased.

Still, Gallup-Healthways reports they expect to see more improvement because this survey began “one month after the economic recession officially began, the negative effects of which were likely reflected in initial well-being scores.”

Nielsen said some experts believe the economy will take a “double-dip” into recession. But he said that “well-being and the economy seem to go a little bit hand-in-hand,” and the slow climb in survey results should encourage the experts to think otherwise.

tgleason@chroniclemail.com