Bahrain is second healthiest country

Manama : Bahrain has been ranked the second healthiest country in the GCC region in the 2017 edition of the Bloomberg Healthiest Country Index. 

Lebanon took the top spot in the Arab world ranking 32 while GCC countries Qatar, Oman as well as the UAE also featured in the top 50. 

According to the index, Bahrain received a health grade of 68.73 and a health score of 74.20 while being ranked 40th. Qatar ranked 36, UAE 43rd and Oman 48 in the index. Lebanon was ranked the highest among Arab countries in both the health score as well as the health grade, scoring 74.03 and 79.55, respectively.

“Each country in the index was graded based on variables such as life expectancy, causes of death and health risks ranging from high blood pressure and tobacco use to malnutrition and the availability of clean water,” researchers stated.

Globally Italy was ranked No1 in the index which included 163 nations. Researchers noted that the Italian diet rich in vegetables and nutritious fats are what made Italy the healthiest country in the world. “While Italy is among the most developed countries, growth has stagnated for decades, almost 40 per cent of its youngsters are out of jobs and it’s saddled with one of the world’s highest debt loads relative to the size of its economy. Yet, Italians are in a way in better shape than Americans. Canadians and Brits suffer from higher blood pressure and cholesterol and poorer mental health,” Bloomberg stated. 

Iceland, Switzerland, Singapore and Australia rounded out the top five most-healthy countries in the index.