New Mavie Study: One in Five People Has Never Attended a Preventive Health Check-Up

Austria Talks About Health, but Acts Too Late

Health is important to many people in Austria — but when it comes to preventive care, much of it remains theoretical. Only 19% attend the free preventive health check-up every year, while one in five people (20%) report that they have never used it at all. At the same time, 37% say they lead a particularly health-conscious lifestyle.

These are the findings of a recent representative study conducted by the Austrian Gallup Institute on behalf of healthcare provider Mavie.

Prevention, Yes — But Later

The results reveal a clear contradiction: health is highly valued, yet regular prevention often falls short in everyday life. One in five people report never having attended the free preventive health check-up (20%), while 41% go less frequently than every two years or not at all.

The reason is rarely a lack of available services, but rather a lack of time and prioritization. Around one-third of those who avoid preventive care repeatedly postpone appointments (28%). An equal share find examinations unpleasant, while 14% consider them too time-consuming to fit into their daily routine.

For many people in Austria, preventive healthcare therefore only begins once symptoms have already become noticeable.

“The challenge with prevention is not awareness — it is that most people only take action once a health problem has already developed. That is exactly what we want to change with Mavie: helping people understand and actively manage their health before it becomes a burden — simply, from home, and on an ongoing basis,” says Lukas Mayrl, Managing Director of Mavie.

Younger Generations Are Driving a New Prevention Trend

The younger generation in particular is changing the way health is perceived. Among people under 30, more than half (57%) are interested in additional health checks and monitoring their personal health values. Overall, 57% of respondents already find such services appealing.

Longevity — the idea of not only living longer but staying healthy for longer — is also gaining importance. Nearly four in ten respondents (39%) have already heard of the concept, while among younger people it is a clear majority (57%).

Health is increasingly being viewed not merely as protection against illness, but as a long-term investment in performance, energy, and healthy ageing.

The results show that Austria is rethinking health — but there is still a significant gap between knowledge and action. Mavie supports this shift with low-threshold solutions that bring prevention to where it can have the greatest impact: people’s everyday lives.