Report · Culture

Health habits are mostly seen as personal responsibility

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In a Verasight survey of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted March 6 to 16, 2026, 75% of Americans said individuals are fully or mostly responsible for their health behaviors.

One in five said individuals and government are equally responsible (20%), while 5% said government is mostly or fully responsible for creating conditions that make it easier to choose healthy behaviors.

Topline

single choice

Topline distribution

75% of Americans say individuals are fully or mostly responsible for their health behaviors.

Do individuals bear full responsibility for their health behaviors or is government responsible for creating conditions that make it easier to choose healthy behaviors?

  • Individuals are mostly responsible for their health behaviors but government has some responsibility 39.8%
  • Individuals are fully responsible for their health behaviors 34.8%
  • Individuals and government are equally responsible 19.7%
  • Government is mostly responsible but individuals bear some responsibility 4.2%
  • Government is fully responsible for people's health behaviors 1.4%

2026 · base n 1,000 · +/- 3.6%

Module 4: Identity, Politics, & Social Trust

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Methodology

Full methodology
Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
Field dates
2026-03-06 → 2026-03-16
Base (unweighted)
1,000
Margin of error
+/- 3.6%
Module
Module 4: Identity, Politics, & Social Trust

Source

Citation

Verasight Client Omnibus Survey #2026-044, fielded March 6-16, 2026, N=1,000 US adults age 18+, +/- 3.6%.

https://reports.verasight.io/reports/omnibus-2026-044#q-4-19

Verasight survey methodology

How Verasight conducts surveys.

This page describes the Verasight general survey contract, separate from how the Data Library packages it. Each wave's specific field dates, sample sizes, and module breakdown are listed in that wave's report.

Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting.
Population
US adults age 18+.
Sample design
Surveys are run as omnibus or single-topic waves. Omnibus waves are split into modules with their own respondent set, typically around one thousand respondents per module.
Field window
Each wave specifies its own field dates. Most omnibus waves field across roughly two weeks.
Weighting
Per-module weighting to CPS targets including age, race and ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, and metropolitan status.
Partisanship benchmark
Pew Research Center's NPORS benchmarking surveys, three-year running average.
Vote benchmark
2024 presidential vote population benchmarks.
Margin of error
Typically about plus or minus 3.4 to 3.6 percent per module at standard module sizes. Question-level MoE is recomputed when a base shrinks materially below the module baseline.
Reporting
Every wave is published as a standalone report at verasight.io/reports with full instrument and methodology.
Transparency
AAPOR transparency standards.

Wave-specific methodology, full weighting variable lists, and verbatim instrument text live in each report at verasight.io/reports.