Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

life expectancy at birth Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy transf ...

in 2013 was 78 for men and 79 for women.

Infrastructure

As part of Kuwait Vision 2035, many new hospitals have opened. In the years leading up to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

pandemic, Kuwait invested in its health care system at a rate that was proportionally higher than most other

GCC countries The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf ( ar, مجلس التعاون لدول العربية الخليج ), also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC; ar, مجلس التعاون الخليجي), is a regional, interg ...

. As a result, the public hospital sector significantly increased its capacity. Kuwait currently has 20 public hospitals. The new Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital is considered the largest hospital in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. Kuwait also has 16 private hospitals.

Obesity

Obesity Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's we ...

is a growing health concern in

. According to ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' magazine, Kuwait ranked 8 on a 2007 list of fattest countries with around 74.2% of Kuwait's total population with an unhealthy weight. In 2011, the number of

bariatric Bariatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the causes, prevention, and treatment of obesity. Terminology The term ''bariatrics'' was coined around 1965,Dictionary.com, based on Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Random House (2006)R ...

operations in Kuwait was 5,000. From 1980 to 1993, the percentage of individuals age 18–29 that were overweight rose from 30.6% to 54.4% and the percentage of those who were overweight increased from 12.8% to 24.6%. In 2000, it was determined that amongst children age 10–14, 30% of boys and 31.8% of girls were overweight. According to the Dasman Center for Research and Treatment of Diabetes, 15% of the adult population has diabetes, with 50% of adults over 45 living with the disease. 22 of every 100 children have developed diabetes as a result of an unhealthy weight. Advertisements for unhealthy junk food are common and some schools sell candy, chocolate, and soda to their students. Specifically in Kuwaiti universities, other factors include eating between meals, marital status, and a male domination of sports.

Smoking

A smoking ban in public places was introduced by Law No 15 of 1995 but was not strictly enforced. New regulations were introduced in 2015 which banned the smoking of indoor public places. Smoking while driving is considered one of the major causes of accidents. In 2015, the General Traffic Department considered enforcing the law that bans motorists smoking inside their vehicles while driving.

References

{{Asia topic, Health in

Infrastructure

Obesity

Smoking

See also

References