European survey reveals health of the nations
Monday October 24th, 2016
Promoting healthy lifestyles alone is not enough for reducing health problems, according to the findings of the new European Social Survey (ESS) report out today.
The report, which analyses attitudes towards physical and mental health in 21 European countries, found that millions of Europeans suffer from a wide range of physical and mental health problems, which are due in part to their economic and social conditions.
The ESS Topline Results Series issue 6: Social Inequalities in Health and their Determinants, based on more than 40,000 survey responses gathered across Europe during 2014/15, recommended that any programme should be supported by income redistribution policies and improving physical working conditions.
Among the main findings is that women in Europe are much more likely than men to report depressive symptoms and severe headaches. In all 21 European countries, women reported more signs of depression than men.
Over a quarter of women in Portugal, Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland said they experienced depressive symptoms. Hungary was the only country that had more than 20% of men reporting these symptoms.
Women are also much more likely to report suffering from severe headaches.
The report also found that men are far more likely to report being overweight than women in all 21 countries that participated in the report. The highest levels are 67.4% in the Czech Republic, 63.8% in Hungary and 61.2% in Slovenia, while the lowest rates were women in Switzerland (29.9%), Denmark and Austria (both 38.9%).
The study found that binge drinking rates are particularly high in the UK and Portugal but that across the 21 countries, men consume almost twice as many units as women.
Units consumed were particularly high in Ireland while low rates were reported in Israel, as well as central and eastern Europe, especially among women.
The 13 highest rates of smokers are male, with 48.8% men in Lithuania and 41.3% in Hungary smokers. Sweden has the least number of smokers, with under 15%.
Professor Terje Eikemo, one of the authors, said: “Although these first results have provided new evidence on the linkages between health and their determinants in European welfare states, we have only scratched the surface of all the opportunities that lie within this new module.
"I hope these new opportunities will give spark to more collaborative work between the social and medical sciences.”
Tags: Diet & Food | Europe | Fitness | Mental Health | UK News
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