In Kuwait, life expectancy at birth in 2013 was 78 for men and 79 for women. [1]
In Kuwait, life expectancy at birth in 2013 was 78 for men and 79 for women. [1]
As part of Kuwait Vision 2035, many new hospitals have opened. [2] [3] [4] In the years leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kuwait invested in its health care system at a rate that was proportionally higher than most other GCC countries. [5] As a result, the public hospital sector significantly increased its capacity. [4] [2] [3] Kuwait currently has 20 public hospitals. [6] [3] The new Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital is considered the largest hospital in the Middle East. [7] Kuwait also has 16 private hospitals. [2]
Obesity is a growing health concern in Kuwait. According to Forbes magazine, Kuwait ranked 8 on a 2007 list of fattest countries with around 74.2% of Kuwait's total population with an unhealthy weight. [8] In 2011, the number of bariatric operations in Kuwait was 5,000. [9]
From 1980 to 1993, the percentage of individuals age 18–29 that were overweight rose from 30.6% to 54.4% and the percentage of those who were overweight increased from 12.8% to 24.6%. [10] In 2000, it was determined that amongst children age 10–14, 30% of boys and 31.8% of girls were overweight. [11]
According to the Dasman Center for Research and Treatment of Diabetes, 15% of the adult population has diabetes, with 50% of adults over 45 living with the disease. 22 of every 100 children have developed diabetes as a result of an unhealthy weight. [12]
Advertisements for unhealthy junk food are common and some schools sell candy, chocolate, and soda to their students. [13] Specifically in Kuwaiti universities, other factors include eating between meals, marital status, and a male domination of sports. [10]
A smoking ban in public places was introduced by Law No 15 of 1995 but was not strictly enforced. [14] New regulations were introduced in 2015 which banned the smoking of indoor public places. [15]
Smoking while driving is considered one of the major causes of accidents. In 2015, the General Traffic Department considered enforcing the law that bans motorists smoking inside their vehicles while driving. [16]
Health in Saudi Arabia refers to the overall health of the population of Saudi Arabia. Government prioritization of preventive healthcare and environmental health began in 1925 following the establishment of a public health department. The decision to create it came after a royal decree from King Abdul Aziz Al-Saud. The government announced plans to increase taxes on soft drinks and tobacco in December 2015.
Health in Israel is generally considered good.
The major causes of deaths in Finland are cardiovascular diseases, malignant tumors, dementia and Alzheimer's disease, respiratory diseases, alcohol related diseases and accidental poisoning by alcohol. In 2010 the leading causes of death among men aged 15 to 64 were alcohol related deaths, ischaemic heart disease, accident, suicides, lung cancer and cerbrovascular diseases. Among women the leading causes were breast cancer, alcohol related deaths, accidents, suicides, ischaemic heart disease and lung cancer.
Obesity is common in the United States and is a major health issue associated with numerous diseases, specifically an increased risk of certain types of cancer, coronary artery disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and cardiovascular disease, as well as significant increases in early mortality and economic costs.
Obesity in the United Kingdom is a significant contemporary health concern, with authorities stating that it is one of the leading preventable causes of death. In February 2016, former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt described rising rates of childhood obesity as a "national emergency". The National Childhood Measurement Programme, which measures obesity prevalence among school-age pupils in reception class and year 6, found obesity levels rocketed in both years groups by more than 4 percentage points between 2019–20 and 2020–21, the highest rise since the programme began. Among reception-aged children, those aged four and five, the rates of obesity rose from 9.9% in 2019–20 to 14.4% in 2020–21. By the time they are aged 10 or 11, more than a quarter are obese. In just 12 months, the rate is up from 21% in 2019–20 to 25.5% in 2020–21.
Cardiovascular disease is the principal cause of death in the UAE, constituting 28 percent of total deaths; other major causes are accidents and injuries, malignancies, and congenital anomalies.
According to 2007 statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), Australia has the third-highest prevalence of overweight adults in the English-speaking world. Obesity in Australia is an "epidemic" with "increasing frequency." The Medical Journal of Australia found that obesity in Australia more than doubled in the two decades preceding 2003, and the unprecedented rise in obesity has been compared to the same health crisis in America. The rise in obesity has been attributed to poor eating habits in the country closely related to the availability of fast food since the 1970s, sedentary lifestyles and a decrease in the labour workforce.
Pacific island nations and associated states make up the top seven on a 2007 list of heaviest countries, and eight of the top ten. In all these cases, more than 70% of citizens aged 15 and over are obese. A mitigating argument is that the BMI measures used to appraise obesity in Caucasian bodies may need to be adjusted for appraising obesity in Polynesian bodies, which typically have larger bone and muscle mass than Caucasian bodies; however, this would not account for the drastically higher rates of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes among these same islanders.
Obesity is a major issue for the Republic of Nauru. The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that 94.5% of Nauruans are overweight or obese, with an obesity rate of 71.7%.
Obesity in the Middle East and North Africa is a notable health issue. Out of the fifteen fattest nations in the world as of 2014, 5 were located in the Middle East and North Africa region.
Obesity in Pakistan is a health issue that has effected concern only in the past few years. Urbanisation, fast food, changing lifestyles and the fact that Traditional Pakistani Cuisine tends to be high in fat and sugar are among the root causes contributing to obesity in the country. Pakistan is ranked 165 in terms of its overweight population, with 22.2% of individuals over the age of 15 crossing the threshold of obesity. This ratio roughly corresponds with other studies, which state one-in-four Pakistani adults as being overweight. In Pakistan, the problem of excess weight is quite high among adults.
After a significant decline in earlier decades, crude birth rates in Armenia slightly increased from 13.0 in the year 1998 to 14.2 in 2015; this timeframe also showed a similar trajectory in the crude death rate, which grew from 8.6 to 9.3. Life expectancy at birth at 74.8 years was the 4th-highest among the Post-Soviet states in 2014.
Health in Malta has seen improvements in recent years, with one of the highest life expectancies in Europe. Malta has a good overall quality of health and has seen rapid growth and improvement in key health indicators. Malta has seen significant development in the practice of mental health which has been supported by new infrastructure and increased government health spending. The introduction of health-focused government initiatives, particularly around nutrition, alcohol, smoking, and health will likely contribute to the further improvement of overall health nationwide.
Life expectancy at birth in 2013 was 74 for men and 79 for women.
Health in Qatar has undergone significant improvement in the last several decades as a result of substantial investments in healthcare by the government. Child mortalities have been reduced by over fifty percent since the 1990s. Qatar's healthcare spending is among the highest in the Middle East, with $4.7 billion being invested in healthcare in 2014. The country's progress in health is hampered by exceedingly high rates of obesity, diabetes and genetic disorders.
Germany ranked 20th in the world in life expectancy in 2014 with 76.5 years for men and 82.1 years for women. It had a very low infant mortality rate, and it was eighth place in the number of practicing physicians, at 3.3 per 1,000 people.
Montenegro is a country with an area of 13,812 square kilometres and a population of 620,029, according to the 2011 census. The country is bordered by Croatia, the Adriatic Sea, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo and Albania. The most common health issues faced are non-communicable diseases accounting for 95% of all deaths. This is followed by 4% of mortality due to injury, and 1% due to communicable, maternal, perinatal and nutritional conditions. Other health areas of interest are alcohol consumption, which is the most prevalent disease of addiction within Montenegro and smoking. Montenegro has one of the highest tobacco usage rates across Europe. Life expectancy for men is 74 years, and life expectancy for women is 79.
Life expectancy in Bahrain at birth in 2013 was 76 for men and 78 for women. Compared to many countries in the region, the prevalence of AIDS and HIV is relatively low. Malaria and tuberculosis (TB) do not constitute major problems in Bahrain as neither disease is indigenous to the country. As a result, cases of malaria and TB have declined in recent decades with cases of contractions amongst Bahraini nationals becoming rare. The Ministry of Health sponsors regular vaccination campaigns against TB and other diseases such as hepatitis B.
Obesity in Thailand has been flagged as a major source of health concern, with 32% of the population identifying as overweight and 9% obese. With reference to 2016 data from the World Health Organization (WHO), Thailand has one of the highest incidence of overweight citizens in the South East Asian region, second to only Malaysia. The Thai National Health Examination Surveys (NHES) found that obesity in Thailand more than doubled during the period 1991-2014. This spike in obesity levels has been largely attributed to increased access to junk food, and unhealthy switches from active to sedentary lifestyles. These factors are closely linked to economic growth in the country.
There are 20 public hospitals in Kuwait, however, we selected 16 hospitals as the remaining facilities had only recently been established and as such did not meet our inclusion criteria as detailed below.
