Nine of the ten least healthy countries in the world are located in Eastern Europe. Their consumption of alcohol and tobacco exposes them to non-communicable diseases.
With 13.7 liters of pure alcohol per person per year (the equivalent of over 1,000 shots of strong alcohol), the Czech Republic ranks among the heaviest drinkers in the world. Its inhabitants are also the 11e more heavy smokers. It is the least healthy country in the world, according to a ranking carried out by the British site Clinic Compare,
This health ranking was produced using data from the World Health Organization, the CIA World Factbook, and the World Lung Association. The assessments for each country were carried out taking into account the quantities of alcohol and tobacco consumed per person per year, and the prevalence of obesity.
It is therefore a classification that looks at the main risk factors for non-communicable diseases, one of the workhorses of the WHO.
Eastern Europe undermined by alcohol and tobacco
And in this area, taking these three factors into account, Eastern Europe is not at the party. Or maybe it is a little too much. She trustees the top 10 of the ranking. Russia, Slovenia, Belarus, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Poland precede Luxembourg, which ranks 9e position. The United States ends up tied with Lithuania in 10e square.
While alcohol and cigarettes undermine the score of Europeans – Slovakians, for example, smoke 2,637 cigarettes per person per year, or more than one packet every three days – it is obesity that harms Americans, which is 35% obese.
But the United States is largely overtaken by the Pacific Islands. The prize for the largest country in the world goes to the Samoa Islands, with an obesity rate of 42%. Tonga, Kiribati, Tuvalu and Fiji are all among the top 10 countries with the most obesity.
Source: Clinic compare
83 cigarettes per year in Afghanistan
The other side of the ranking is less representative. The “healthiest” countries are those with the lowest alcohol and tobacco consumption, and obesity rates. But there are many countries with failing health systems and limited life expectancy.
Afghanistan, in the lead, has only 2.7% obese. Its inhabitants smoke only 83 cigarettes per year on average, and very little alcohol, its sale being prohibited. Guinea, Niger, Nepal, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea and Malawi, as well as other of the poorest countries in Africa are accompanying Afghanistan.
15 million premature deaths per year
France, for its part, is in the soft underbelly. Rather poorly classified for tobacco, it is doing a little better for alcohol and obesity. It is considered healthier than Belgium, but less than Italy, Portugal or the Scandinavian countries.
Each year, the four major global providers of premature death from NCDs are cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, cancer and diabetes. Together, they kill 15 million people between the ages of 30 and 70 each year, according to the WHO.
.
