Israelis are gaining weight, and nearly one in five adults smoke, according to a new report from the Israel National Institute for Health Policy and Health Services Research that looks into the work of Israel's various healthcare providers for 2019.
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The report examined 40 parameters linked to heart disease and vascular disease, pre-cancer screenings, mental health, infectious disease, diabetes, and the promotion of a healthy lifestyle. When it comes to the issue of excess body weight, the data from 2019 indicate that 62% of men and 55% of women were overweight.
In addition, the report showed that excess weight is a growing problem among young Israelis, with 10.9% of 14-year-olds suffering from excess body weight in 2019, compared to 10.5% in 2018 and 10.2% in 2017.
How many Israelis smoke? According to the report, nearly one-fifth (19.6%) of the population aged 16-74 are smokers. In recent years, steps to curtail smoking have been taken at various levels, such as banning smoking in public areas, offering easier access to medications that help people break their addiction to smoking, and Health Ministry public service announcements, but the percentage of smokers remains high.
In 2019, 27.3% of Israeli men and 12.4% of Israeli women smoked, which marked an increase compared to 2018, when the percentages of smokers by gender were 27% and 12.1.%, respectively. Israel has a higher percentage of smokers than the OECD average of 18%.
According to the report, 2019 also saw a decrease in the percentage of women who underwent mammograms to detect breast cancer, with 71% of women aged 50-74 having undergone mammograms, compared to 72.5% in 2018. The rate of colon cancer screenings remained the same year-on-year.
However, for the first time, the report looked at the numbers of patients who tested positive for fecal occult blood and found that one-third did not undergo colonoscopies to examine the findings, as recommended by their doctors.
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