When it comes to unhealthy habits, South Africa ranks in the top 10 countries globally, with the highest rate of sexually transmitted diseases.
This is according to a study by medical aid comparison platform MedicalAid.com, which analysed the rates of unhealthy habits including alcohol consumption, tobacco smoking, obesity levels and sexually transmitted disease (STD) rates.
“We’ve conducted a study looking at five separate habits that are detrimental to human health across 50 countries. These factors are combined into an overall ‘Unhealthy Lifestyle Score’, revealing the countries with the healthiest and least healthy lifestyles overall,” said MedicalAid.com
When comparing countries, MedicalAid.com used data from the World Health Organisation showing rates of tobacco smoking, obesity and physical inactivity across different countries.
They also used data from Wisevoter, an online data provider of range of subjects per country, which showed the prevalence of five common STDs in each country (excluding HIV).
Bulgaria topped the list of unhealthy countries with a unhealthy lifestyle score of 7.94.
As of 2020, the large Balkan country has the highest smoking rate in our study, with as much as 35.5% of the population consuming tobacco products, making it the only country where this rate is higher than one third.
Bulgaria also has the seventh highest average annual alcohol consumption at 11.2 litres per capita, as well as relatively high scores for most other factors including an obesity rate of 25% and physical inactivity rate of 38.5%.
South Africa ranked 10th on the list with an unhealthy lifestyle score of 6.14.
The obesity rate stands at 28.3%, physical inactivity rate of 38%, alcohol consumption of 7.2 litres per capita and a smoking rate of 16.6%.
When it came to STDs, the study ranked South Africa the highest.
“South Africa has the highest rate of STD prevalence at 37,273 people per 100,000, which is 294% higher than in Israel, where the lowest rate of 9,455 cases per 100,000 people was recorded.”
“Engaging in unprotected sexual activity can be very risky, especially if you are not in a committed monogamous relationship. Having unprotected sex with multiple partners exponentially increases the risk of contracting an STD, which can be unpleasant for those infected and can have lasting health implications. By looking at which countries have the highest levels of STD prevalence, we can infer that rates of unprotected sex are also high in those locations,” the study states.
India, with its unhealthy lifestyle score of 1.31, ranked the lowest.
“India recorded the lowest Unhealthy Lifestyle Score of any country in our study at just 1.31, meaning people in the country have the fewest unhealthy habits on average. India has the lowest rate of smoking at 5.2% of the population as well as the lowest rate of obesity at 3.9%. Additionally, the country has the second lowest rate of STD prevalence, with 10,763 diagnoses per 100,000 people.”
The study also showed that the US has the highest obesity rate at 36.20% of the population.
Saudi Arabia has the highest rate of physical inactivity at 55%, and due to its ban on alcohol it also has the lowest rate of alcohol consumption, while China has the lowest rate of physical inactivity at 14%.
“As habits constitute learnt behaviour, they can also be unlearned or replaced with new habits that will provide better health outcomes. That’s not to say that the occasional slip-up or indulgence will seriously damage your health, rather it’s the repetition of these behaviours over time that allow health problems to manifest,” said MedicalAid.com.
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