Whites not happy

Hypertension-related illnesses such as strokes and heart attacks kill far more whites than blacks because many whites are not happy.

So says statistician-general Pali Lehohla, who contends that black South Africans are less likely to suffer from the potentially fatal condition because they are "happy". This is despite the fact that it is black people who live in the poorest conditions, where tuberculosis and HIV/Aids are prevalent.

According to the 2011 General Household Survey and the mortality survey in 2010, 15% of South Africans died from hypertension-related conditions and most of them were white.

Most of the 25% of the population who died from infectious diseases such as TB and Aids were black.

Reporting to parliament's portfolio committee on the survey and other studies yesterday, Lehohla said hypertension was ''a disease of not being happy . it's the highest among whites".

He attributed this to white South Africans' diets, which were high in fats, their lack of exercise and their cultural habits.

Because of the closer cultural relationships and equality between black South Africans they were less likely to suffer from hypertension, Lehohla suggested. "Hypertension is a consequence of not being very comfortable and happy with life.

"We haven't done a study to find the levels of the happiest of race groups, [but] probably you will find a lot of happiness among blacks . a funeral [in black culture] is a feast all day.

"Hypertension can be part [and] parcel of the pressures on you because of inequality within the group . so hypertension is caused by our lifestyles.

"[It is] consumption patterns, [whites'] eating habits are quite different from the eating habits of other population groups, particularly the blacks," Lehohla said.

According to the household survey, diabetes was most prevalent among Indian and Asian South Africans.

About 14% of South Africans were diabetic, 9.6% of them were Indian or Asian, compared with 4% who were black.

"Indians, possibly because of their diet, are the most likely to contract diabetes," said Lehohla.

"The manifestation of diseases among races is very clear," he said.

According to the mortality survey, between 1997 and 2010:

• 62827 South Africans died of tuberculosis;
• 18327 died of Aids-related illnesses;
• 20707 died after strokes;
• 15774 of heart failure, and
• 21475 people died because of diabetes.

In total, 534856 South Africans died from both natural and unnatural causes between 1997 and 2010.

Lehohla said because of "biology" and lifestyle, more men died annually than women.

The average life expectancy was 60, but women in general lived about seven years longer than men, he said.

This, despite more men being born than women, at a ratio of 104:100.

"Males are the weaker sex because they are more vulnerable even before they start doing drugs and alcohol and sports that are dangerous," he said.

According to statistics, the most deaths across all ages and sexes were in KwaZulu-Natal, followed by Gauteng and Eastern Cape.

The least deaths were recorded in Northern Cape.