Belgium: some health statistics

Belgium with its +/- 11 000 000 inhabitants and a life-expectancy of 83.7 yrs looks a very happy and healthy country… But are we so healthy as the life-expectancy let’s suspect?
No, our health statistics show the opposite… Some facts:

• 1 in 2 of the overall population is overweight, 1 in 10 is even obese. Also 16% of the adolescents is overweight;
• 1 in 5 of the youngsters smoke;
• alcohol use and abuse is on the rise since 2013;
• a deterioration of several indicators of mental health and emotional well-being (specifically, an increase of the percentage of people with depressive feelings, anxiety disorders and / or serious sleep problems);
• the incidence of sexual transmitted diseases – Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea, Syphilis – increases;
• 1 in 2 adolescents between 12 – 18y are on medication, use anti-inflammatory drugs.

As a midwife and member of the PreconNet-team the facts mentioned above worry me. The indicators do not just affect the health condition in general but also compromise the reproductive health of our YOUNG population. Their lifestyle puts them at risk. They do…without knowing the consequences on their REPRODUCTIVE health.

Magali De Pauw

VIVES university of Applied Science – Belgium

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