A research team at Chiba University's Center for Preventive Medicine converted the increase in life satisfaction resulting from health behaviors into a monetary value based on nationwide survey data. They found that a one-point increase in life satisfaction is worth approximately 151 million yen per year. The research findings were published in the international academic journal "Value in Health."
The research team consists of Project Assistant Professor Kenjiro Kawaguchi (currently Assistant Professor at Tokyo Women's Medical University), Project Researcher Hirotaka Takeuchi, Associate Professor Atsushi Nakagomi, Project Associate Professor Kazushige Ide, and Project Professor Katsunori Kondo. Using data from a nationwide internet survey conducted in 2025, they estimated the monetary value of increased life satisfaction due to health behaviors among 14,736 adults aged 20 to 79.
According to the study, an analysis based on 19 indicators including mental health, women's health, and social relationships revealed that maintaining a one-point increase in life satisfaction for one year is equivalent to approximately 151 million yen in monetary value. This analysis was based on equivalent household income, calculated by dividing the total household income by the square root of the number of household members, but multiple analyses with different conditions also yielded estimated values in the range of approximately 151 to 204 million yen.
To appropriately allocate limited budgets to public policies and projects, it is helpful to understand outcomes in terms of their monetary value. The research team believes that "these estimation results will serve as a basis for examining policies and projects in a common unit and can be used as reference values for cost-benefit ratio calculations by local governments and companies."
Paper information: [Value in Health] The Monetary Value of Health and Health Behaviors in Japan: A Well-Being Valuation Approach
