The World Health Organization report: A healthy life will extend life expectancy by 10 years in developing countries, and by 5 years in industrialized countries
The news agencies (Wala!)
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Drinking, smoking and overeating, phenomena that used to be the domain of rich countries only, have become common in poor countries as well, according to a report published today (Wednesday) by the World Health Organization. "There is no longer a risk or disease that is associated exclusively with the rich countries," said the author of the report, Chris Morris.
According to the report, which is based on one of the most comprehensive studies conducted to date, the top ten causes of death, in order of their lethality, are malnutrition, unsafe sex, high blood pressure, smoking, alcohol consumption, water pollution and poor sanitation, lack of In iron, smoke inhalation from internal burners, high cholesterol and excess weight.
"Although none of these factors is a new discovery, the fact that tobacco, alcohol and cholesterol rank so high in the global survey is a surprise," said Chris Morris, author of the World Health Organization's 2002 report, "World Health." These factors are responsible for more than a third of - the 56 million deaths recorded each year worldwide.
In developing countries, 170 million children suffer from malnutrition and three million children a year die as a result. On the other hand, in both industrialized and developing countries, more than a billion people suffer from excess weight. 300 million of them are considered clinically dangerously obese. Every year, about 500 people die from diseases related to being overweight.
The AIDS virus ranks fourth in the list of global causes of death. 40 million people carry the virus worldwide. Seventy percent of the carriers live in Africa. "In general, about 2.9 million deaths per year are caused by unsafe sex. Most of the deaths are recorded in Africa," the report said.
Smoking and drinking alcohol were also defined as the main causes of death, although no exact numbers were given on the number of their victims. Contaminated water, poor sanitation and neglect of personal hygiene also appeared in a respectable place on the list, which together cause 1.7 million deaths per year, mainly among children. Iron deficiency, especially among children and pregnant women, was also defined as a leading cause of death, affecting more than two million people worldwide, and causing the death of at least one million people a year, the report said. Lack of nutrients such as vitamin A, iodine and zinc also claim victims, as does air pollution inside buildings that originates from fires lit inside the house for heating or cooking purposes.
"In different ways, the report proves that the entire world lives on the edge of danger, either because there is no choice, or because we make wrong decisions, especially in relation to different consumption habits and different activities," says Morris.
The summary of the report's findings paints an optimistic picture: "Many of the risk factors can be reversed quickly, and the gains will be seen within a decade. A healthy life can extend life expectancy by ten years in developing countries, and by five years in industrialized countries."
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