France's 2017 health report: The French are living longer but not so healthily
The Local France - [email protected]
Published: 10 Nov, 2017 CET.
Updated: Fri 10 Nov 2017 17:24 CET
The French can expect to live longer lives than people living in other developed countries but those years might not be spent in the best health, a new report shows. Here's what else it said about health in France.
The study published every two years by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) compared people's health across 35 developed nations.
In France, people born today can expect to live to 82.4 years compared to an average life expectancy of 80.6 years.
This puts France in sixth place behind the likes of Japan, where people have the highest life expectancy at 83.9 years and Spain and Switzerland, where in both countries people can expect to live to a very respectable 83-years-old.
The study also showed that France has one of the lowest rate of deaths caused by heart attack, only behind Japan and South Korea.
READ ALSO:
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Why the French aren't eating quite as healthily as you thought
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Question: Just how healthy is the French health system?
Photo: AFP
But while life expectancy might be high and a fatal heart attack less likely than elsewhere, the French aren't living out their years in the best health, the report shows.
The rate of dementia including Alzheimer's in France is higher than the average
The figure stands at 20 cases of dementia out of every 1000 people which is put down to France's aging population.
The health study also showed that France has a lower than average rate of overweight and obese people, with 49 percent of people over the age of falling into these categories compared to 54 percent.
And the same went for air pollution with the average annual exposure of French people to fine particles at 12.4 micrograms / m3, against 15.1 in the average of OECD countries.
However the report isn't all good news for the French, with tabacco and alcohol consumption higher than the average seen across the nations included in the OECD study.
Over the age of 15, a massive 22.4 percent of the French population smokes against an average of 18.4 percent and they drink 11.9 litres of pure alcohol each a year, compared the average of nine litres.
The report also warns against the overuse of antibiotics, with the French using them 50 percent more compared to other developed countries.
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The study published every two years by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) compared people's health across 35 developed nations.
In France, people born today can expect to live to 82.4 years compared to an average life expectancy of 80.6 years.
This puts France in sixth place behind the likes of Japan, where people have the highest life expectancy at 83.9 years and Spain and Switzerland, where in both countries people can expect to live to a very respectable 83-years-old.
The study also showed that France has one of the lowest rate of deaths caused by heart attack, only behind Japan and South Korea.
READ ALSO:
- Why the French aren't eating quite as healthily as you thought
- Question: Just how healthy is the French health system?
Photo: AFP
But while life expectancy might be high and a fatal heart attack less likely than elsewhere, the French aren't living out their years in the best health, the report shows.
The rate of dementia including Alzheimer's in France is higher than the average
The figure stands at 20 cases of dementia out of every 1000 people which is put down to France's aging population.
The health study also showed that France has a lower than average rate of overweight and obese people, with 49 percent of people over the age of falling into these categories compared to 54 percent.
And the same went for air pollution with the average annual exposure of French people to fine particles at 12.4 micrograms / m3, against 15.1 in the average of OECD countries.
However the report isn't all good news for the French, with tabacco and alcohol consumption higher than the average seen across the nations included in the OECD study.
Over the age of 15, a massive 22.4 percent of the French population smokes against an average of 18.4 percent and they drink 11.9 litres of pure alcohol each a year, compared the average of nine litres.
The report also warns against the overuse of antibiotics, with the French using them 50 percent more compared to other developed countries.
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