When it comes to being healthy, the world’s priority is getting more sleep rather than eating healthy food, exercising or taking vitamins, a poll has found.
Worldwide, 66 per cent of people get enough sleep, compared to 59 per cent who eat healthy food and 57 per cent who regularly exercise.
Indonesians and Indians are the most well-rested, with 85 and 77 per cent respectively reporting they get enough sleep.
Meanwhile the Polish and Russians get by with the least shut-eye, with only 51 per cent and 52 per cent getting enough rest to maintain health.
The poll, by market research organisation GfK, questioned more than 28,000 in 23 countries on which activities they regularly do to maintain their physical health.
Graphic shows the percentage of people in each country (arranged alphabetically, going from Argentina, clockwise, to the USA) who get enough sleep (red), eat healthy food (green) or exercise (blue). These were the top activities people worldwide report they carry out to maintain physical health
Globally, people focus more on sleep than on regular oral care, and more on exercise than spending time with friends, family or pets. The graph shows the top five activities people around the world say they carry out in order to maintain their physical health. It also breaks down each category by gender, showing more women take part in health promoting behaviours than men - except when it comes to exercise
It found only that while sushi may be touted as a diet option, only 29 per cent of people in Japan say they eat healthy food.
And while curry is billed as a high-calorie Friday night treat, 79 per cent of people in India say they eat healthily.
Mexico and China have the highest number of people who exercise on a regular basis (68 per cent and 67 per cent), while Japan and Russia have fewer fitness fanatics (39 per cent and 40 per cent).
For the survey, GfK interviewed people aged 15 or older in 23 countries either online or face-to-face in summer 2014.
The countries included Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, UK, Ukraine and the USA.(source)
A study in The Lancet has revealed the healthiest countries in the world – and it’s grim reading for some, such as the US.
The research, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, was conducted as part of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), with countries marked according to public data, pharmaceutical reports, and medical records.
“The massive study emerged from a decadelong collaboration focused on the worldwide distribution of disease,” said Bloomberg, adding that the team “scrubbed data obtained on dozens of topics from all over the world.”
Top of the list was Iceland, while the UK managed to come in at fifth. But it’s not until you get to 28th place that you find the US, while China ranked even more poorly in 92nd place.
In last place out of 188 countries, we find the Central African Republic, closely followed by Somalia, South Sudan, Niger, and Chad.
“Our analysis not only highlights the importance of income, education, and fertility as drivers of health improvement but also emphasises that investments in these areas alone will not be sufficient,” the study authors noted.
Below is the top 10 list with some notable countries also added. You can see the full list and read more about the study in the open source PDF available on The Lancet.
1. Iceland
2. Singapore
3. Sweden
4. Andorra
5. UK
6. Finland
7. Spain
8. Netherlands
9. Canada
10. Australia
15. Germany
28. USA
92. China
119. Russia (Source)
