Itongadol/AJN.- A comprehensive Health Ministry report for 2013 reveals the maternal age in Israel has gone up to 30, Israel ranks first in mortality rate for diabetes, and cancer is the primary cause of death in the country.
The annual Health Ministry report for 2013 reveals that despite an improvement in certain fields, the morbidity rates in Israel for heart diseases, diabetes and cancer are still high and alarming.
One of the most striking figures in the report addresses the overweight epidemic, which Israel suffers from as well. Fifty percent of the adult population in the country is overweight or obese. The overweight rate is 50% higher among men.
Among Jewish men, the highest rates of obesity and overweight are in the 45-64 age group, where they reach 70% of the population. Sixty-four percent of Jewish women aged 65 and over are overweight or obese.
The obesity and overweight rate drops as the education level goes up. The obesity rate among Israelis with a higher education (more than 12 years of study) is 24% lower than among Israelis with a medium education level (11 to 12 years of study) and 51% lower than among Israelis with a low education level (up to 10 years of study).
Obesity is a sensitive issue among children too, with a gradual increase in the extent of the phenomenon among children in the first to fifth grades. On the other hand, a moderate drop was recorded in the seventh to ninth grades. The highest rate of overweight and obesity was found in the fifth to seventh grades, reaching 30.7%.
High cholesterol levels over age 65
According to the report, 18.4% of men and 20% of women suffer from hypertension, 10% of men have abnormal blood lipids, and among those ages 65 and over half of the men and 30% of the women suffer from high cholesterol levels. Fifty-three percent of the population, mostly men, engage in regular physical activity during their spare time.
Surprising figures were recorded in regards births too. The median maternal age is 30, compared to 28.5 in 2000. In 2012 there were 171,000 live births, 73% of them among Jews. Of all births, 4.5% were multiple births, including 268 babies born as part of triplets. The birth weight of 13,661 babies was lower than 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds), and 1,569 babies were born at a weight lower than 1.5 kilograms (3.3 pounds).