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In Kuwait, life expectancy at birth in 2013 was 78 for men and 79 for women.^[1]

Infrastructure

As part of Kuwait Vision 2035, many new hospitals have opened.^[2]^[3]^[4] In the years leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kuwait invested in its health care system at a rate that was proportionally higher than most other GCC countries.^[5] As a result, the public hospital sector significantly increased its capacity.^[4]^[2]^[3] Kuwait currently has 20 public hospitals.^[6]^[3] The new Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital is considered the largest hospital in the Middle East.^[7] Kuwait also has 16 private hospitals.^[2]

Obesity

Obesity is a growing health concern in Kuwait. According to Forbes magazine, Kuwait ranked 8 on a 2007 list of fattest countries with around 74.2% of Kuwait's total population with an unhealthy weight.^[8] In 2011, the number of bariatric operations in Kuwait was 5,000.^[9]

From 1980 to 1993, the percentage of individuals age 18–29 that were overweight rose from 30.6% to 54.4% and the percentage of those who were overweight increased from 12.8% to 24.6%.^[10] In 2000, it was determined that amongst children age 10–14, 30% of boys and 31.8% of girls were overweight.^[11]

According to the Dasman Center for Research and Treatment of Diabetes, 15% of the adult population has diabetes, with 50% of adults over 45 living with the disease. 22 of every 100 children have developed diabetes as a result of an unhealthy weight.^[12]

Advertisements for unhealthy junk food are common and some schools sell candy, chocolate, and soda to their students.^[13] Specifically in Kuwaiti universities, other factors include eating between meals, marital status, and a male domination of sports.^[10]

Smoking

A smoking ban in public places was introduced by Law No 15 of 1995 but was not strictly enforced.^[14] New regulations were introduced in 2015 which banned the smoking of indoor public places.^[15]

Smoking while driving is considered one of the major causes of accidents. In 2015, the General Traffic Department considered enforcing the law that bans motorists smoking inside their vehicles while driving.^[16]

References

^ "Kuwait". World Health Organization. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Kuwait 2020 Health Infrastructure Report". 4 April 2020. Archived from the original on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Healthcare Infrastructure in Kuwait: On Solid Footing". 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Mega-projects boost hospital capacity in Kuwait". Oxford Business Group. 2016. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016.
^ "Covid-19 Response Report Kuwait" (PDF). Oxford Business Group. 26 March 2021. p. 6.
^ Ali, Hayfaa; Ibrahem, Samaa Zenhom; Al Mudaf, Buthaina; Al Fadalah, Talal; Jamal, Diana; El-Jardali, Fadi (March 2018). "Baseline assessment of patient safety culture in public hospitals in Kuwait". BMC Health Services Research. 18: 5. doi:10.1186/s12913-018-2960-x. ISSN 1472-6963. PMC 5840785. PMID 29510705. There are 20 public hospitals in Kuwait, however, we selected 16 hospitals as the remaining facilities had only recently been established and as such did not meet our inclusion criteria as detailed below.
^ "MidEast's largest hospital to open in Kuwait by end of 2016". Arabian Business. 2016. Archived from the original on 13 December 2016.
^ Lauren Streib (February 8, 2007). "World's Fattest Countries". Forbes. Archived from the original on October 16, 2007. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
^ "Kuwaitis fight fat with stomach stapling – Kuwait becomes one of the world's fattest countries". Kuwait Times. 8 November 2012. Archived from the original on 13 April 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
^ ^a ^b Al-Isa, A.N. (1999). Obesity among Kuwaiti University Students: An Explorative Study. p. 223.
^ "Global Childhood Overweight". IASO. 2010. Archived from the original on 2012-08-01. Retrieved 2015-12-22.
^ Nacheva, Velina (2009). Dasman Center Raises Nutrition Awareness.
^ Al-Qatari, Hussain (2010). Packing Obesity: A Peek into a Student's Lunch Box.
^ "Up In Smoke". Kuwait Times. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "Kuwait Bans Smoking in Malls and Public Indoors". Kuwaitiful. 26 July 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
^ "Kuwait plans to enforce ban on smoking inside vehicles". Arabian Business. 10 August 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.