Maybe there's something to gazpacho or paella as Spain overtook Italy to become the healthiest country in the world
Italy and Spain are the most missed countries in the world, according to the 2019 edition of the Bloomberg Healthiest Country Index, which ranks 169 economies according to factors that contribute to overall health. Spain, which was in sixth place in the previous measurement, published in 2017, has surpassed Italy (second place) and is now in first place.
Four other European countries were among the top 10 in 2019: Iceland (third place), Switzerland (fifth), Sweden (sixth) and Norway (ninth). Japan was the healthiest Asian country, rising three places compared to the 2017 survey, to fourth place, previously occupied by Singapore, which fell to eighth place. Australia and Israel, in seventh and tenth place, closed the top 10.
The index ranks countries based on variables such as life expectancy and imposes penalties for risks such as tobacco use and obesity. It also takes into account environmental factors such as access to drinking water and sanitation.
Spain has the highest life expectancy at birth among European Union countries and is second only to Japan and Switzerland globally, according to data from the United Nations. The forecast is that in 2040 Spain will have the highest life expectancy, at almost 86 years, followed by Japan, Singapore and Switzerland, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.
“Primary care is essentially provided by public service providers, specialized family doctors and nursing staff, who provide preventive services to children, women and elderly patients, as well as short and long-term care”, according to the European Observatory publication of Health Systems and Policies 2018 on Spain, noting a decline over the past decade in cardiovascular disease and cancer deaths.
Eating habits
Researchers say eating habits may offer clues about health levels in Spain and Italy because a “Mediterranean diet, supplemented with extra virgin olive oil or nuts, generates a lower rate of major cardiovascular events than those attributed to a diet with fat reduction”, according to a study led by the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Navarra.
Meanwhile, in North America, Canada's 16th place ranking far surpassed the US and Mexico, which fell slightly to 35th and 53rd. Life expectancy in the US has been declining due to deaths from drug overdoses and suicides.
Cuba ranked five places above the US, becoming the only country not classified as “high income” by the World Bank to rank so high. One reason for the island nation's success may be its emphasis on preventative care, in contrast to the American focus on diagnosing and treating disease, the American Bar Association's Health Law Section said in a report last year after visiting Cuba.
South Korea improved seven positions and ranked 17th. China, with 1,4 billion inhabitants, rose three positions and came in 52nd place. Life expectancy in China is expected to surpass that of the US by 2040, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.
–With collaboration with Dave Merrill.
Original story reporters: Lee Miller in Bangkok, [email protected];Wei Lu in New York, [email protected]
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