According to new data reported by The National, 50 per cent of stroke victims in this country are under the age of 45. Strokes are a serious brain injury that can lead to the loss of motor skills and death. Generally, older people are at higher risk of strokes, with the global average age of victims above 65. The high number of young patients here is a critical warning sign that our lifestyle choices need to change if we want to bring this problem under control.
Smoking, lack of physical exercise and poor diets high in fatty, processed food are leading causes of strokes around in the world. Roughly 20 per cent of our population is considered obese and an additional 20 per cent have some form of diabetes. The result is up to 10,000 strokes every year.
While the numbers are bleak, there are proven steps that can be taken to tackle this problem. However, practical measures must be adapted across various sectors of society to bring stroke numbers down. Healthy-living campaigns such as the one spearheaded by this newspaper are the first step towards educating residents about the effect of poor lifestyle and diet choices.
Additionally, healthcare providers need to take a leading role in providing preventive care and treatment to those at risk of lifestyle diseases. That means that doctors should encourage better diet choices, get patients to exercise on a regular basis and reduce the number of people that smoke.
Regular health screenings would also be helpful in monitoring the effect of poor lifestyle choices. Such a push would be in the interest of healthcare providers as healthier patients don’t take the health infrastructure to the same degree as unhealthy patients.
Insurance providers can further work with the Government to craft new healthy-living programmes and research the possibility of implementing a tax on cigarettes and, say, sugary drinks. There are proven measures that can be taken to reduce the risks of lifestyle choices. It is up to authorities to spearhead these measures across all parts of society.
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
Mazen Abukhater, principal and actuary at global consultancy Mercer, Middle East, says the company’s Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index - which benchmarks 34 pension schemes across the globe to assess their adequacy, sustainability and integrity - included Saudi Arabia for the first time this year to offer a glimpse into the region.
The index highlighted fundamental issues for all 34 countries, such as a rapid ageing population and a low growth / low interest environment putting pressure on expected returns. It also highlighted the increasing popularity around the world of defined contribution schemes.
“Average life expectancy has been increasing by about three years every 10 years. Someone born in 1947 is expected to live until 85 whereas someone born in 2007 is expected to live to 103,” Mr Abukhater told the Mena Pensions Conference.
“Are our systems equipped to handle these kind of life expectancies in the future? If so many people retire at 60, they are going to be in retirement for 43 years – so we need to adapt our retirement age to our changing life expectancy.”
Saudi Arabia came in the middle of Mercer’s ranking with a score of 58.9. The report said the country's index could be raised by improving the minimum level of support for the poorest aged individuals and increasing the labour force participation rate at older ages as life expectancies rise.
Mr Abukhater said the challenges of an ageing population, increased life expectancy and some individuals relying solely on their government for financial support in their retirement years will put the system under strain.
“To relieve that pressure, governments need to consider whether it is time to switch to a defined contribution scheme so that individuals can supplement their own future with the help of government support,” he said.
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Klipit
Started: 2022
Founders: Venkat Reddy, Mohammed Al Bulooki, Bilal Merchant, Asif Ahmed, Ovais Merchant
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Digital receipts, finance, blockchain
Funding: $4 million
Investors: Privately/self-funded
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kinetic 7
Started: 2018
Founder: Rick Parish
Based: Abu Dhabi, UAE
Industry: Clean cooking
Funding: $10 million
Investors: Self-funded
Warlight,
Michael Ondaatje, Knopf
