The Economist’s Post

Health and long life correlate unsurprisingly with GDP per capita. But southern Europe is outperforming the usual link between wealth and health https://lnkd.in/eytC-nf2

Health and long life correlate unsurprisingly with GDP per capita. But southern Europe is outperforming the usual link between wealth and health https://lnkd.in/eHYa7Gw6

Health and long life correlate unsurprisingly with GDP per capita. But southern Europe is outperforming the usual link between wealth and health https://lnkd.in/eB6u-pmF

Health and long life correlate unsurprisingly with GDP per capita. But southern Europe is outperforming the usual link between wealth and health https://lnkd.in/eGxbvNP6

Yesterday we launched our new edition of OECD Society at a Glance with a very hotly debated topic as special chapter: the evolution of fertility rates in OECD countries - what are the reasons for the declines we observe almost everywhere and what are the possible policy responses? Check out this infographic for a quick overview of the most important stats and read the analysis in the report: : https://oe.cd/sag

This publication presents a summary of the state of health in Australia in 2024, with key findings on the health system, the health of Australians, and factors that can influence public health. The AIHW has also released a data insights report which complements this resource. Key findings 1. Australia’s life expectancy at birth is fourth highest among 38 OECD countries, after Japan, Korea and Switzerland. A boy and a girl born in 2020–2022 can expect to live on average 81.2 years and 85.3 years respectively – an increase of over 40% since the start of the 20th century. 2. For the first time since the mid-1990s, however, life expectancy in Australia decreased in 2020–2022 – by 0.1 years for males and females from 2019–2021 to 2020–2022. This is likely due to the increase in deaths seen in 2022, of which close to half were due to COVID-19. 3. In 2023, the leading causes of total burden among males were coronary heart disease, back pain and problems and suicide and self-inflicted injuries. Among females, the leading causes were dementia, followed by anxiety disorders and back pain and problems. 4. Cancer is a major cause of illness in Australia. In 2023, on average over 450 cases were diagnosed each day. #Healthservicesaccessibility #Healthservicesplanning #Primaryhealthcare #Immunisation #Chronicdiseases #Cancer #Preventativehealth #Cancerscreening #Publichealth #Burdenofdisease #Lifeexpectancy #Australia

Obesity rate (% of adult population): Cook Islands: 69.8% Nauru: 58.1% Kiribati: 56.7% Kuwait: 43.8% USA: 42.7% México: 36.9% Egypt: 35.7% New Zealand: 34.3% Argentina: 32.4% Australia: 31.3% Russia: 30.3% UAE: 27.8% South Africa: 26.2% Brazil: 25.9% Venezuela: 24.6% Canada: 24.3% Ireland: 21.0% Turkey: 20.2% Saudi Arabia: 20.2% UK: 20.1% Czechia: 19.8% Germany: 19.0% Poland: 19.0% Austria: 17.1% France: 17.0% Israel: 17.0% Denmark: 16.5% Greece: 16.4% Belgium: 16.3% Sweden: 16.0% Netherlands: 15.5% Norway: 14.0% Thailand: 11.6% Switzerland: 11.0% Romania: 10.9% Italy: 10.4% China: 6.5% India: 5.5% Bangladesh: 5.4% Japan: 4.5% Vietnam: 1.7% Ethiopia: 1.0%

Small country but major impact of Long COVID    The public health and economic burden of long COVID in Australia, 2022–24: a modelling study "Our model indicated that 172 530–872 799 people would have long COVID symptoms at the end of 2024. The number of working hours lost would be highest for people aged 30–49 years, leading to an estimated mean economic loss of up to $9.6 billion (2020–21 value), or one-quarter of GDP growth during 2022" https://lnkd.in/dqUn_D4X  

Following his election to Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele pledged to address Solomon Islands ailing economy. Many followers of Solomon Islands politics agree. But if other sectors that contribute to a healthy economy are neglected the PM’s economic improvements could be blunted. In his 2011 Foreign Affairs essay “The Sick Man of Asia” Yangzhou Huang described how the health of people can impact economic growth and stability. “A 2011 report by some of China’s leading economists and public health experts estimates that in 2005, disease cost more than five billion working days and 2.4 trillion yuan ($296 billion) in lost economic activity -- about 13 percent of China’s GDP.” While his essay is focused on health in China data supporting the link between health and economic growth continues to be described. The Brookings Institute report Prioritizing Health: A Prescription for Prosperity “found an economic return of between $2 to $4 across developing countries for every $1 invested in health.” In Solomon Islands alone addressing health through services and prevention would result in 32% fewer early deaths, 42% fewer illnesses and a 25% increase in labor productivity. (https://lnkd.in/dhSmCdNi) This is a time when Solomon Islands can get it right by improving healthcare in rural as well as urban settings so children go to school as opposed to being caretakers of sick or debilitated parents and their subsistence food gardens. Development partners throughout the Pacific Islands should invest in health systems in addition to economic focuses as data has repeatedly shown they go hand in hand. https://lnkd.in/dp3wWKPM

Obesity Rates Around the World In most OECD countries that collect self-reported weight data, more than half of adults were overweight or obese and nearly one in five were obese in 2021 (latest available data). Obesity prevalence was particularly high in the United States, with just over a third of respondents saying that they are obese. In Chile and the United Kingdom rates were just above one in four, while Korea had the lowest share of people with obesity of the countries studied at just 4.3 percent. Men were more likely to be overweight or obese in all countries studied, with a difference of 19-20 percentage points between Germany, Luxembourg and the Czech Republic. According to the World Health Organization, a body mass index (BMI) of over 25 is considered overweight, and over 30 obese.