(21 March 2017) “Italy’s struggling economy has world’s healthiest people” is the title of an article published by Bloomberg Markets. “The high-heeled boot surrounded by five seas is ranked the healthiest country on Earth in the Bloomberg Global Health Index of 163 countries. A baby born in Italy can expect to live to be an octogenarian. But 2,800 miles south in Sierra Leone, the average new-born will die by 52”. It continues, “Italians are in way better shape than Americans, Canadians and Brits, who all suffer from higher blood pressure and cholesterol and poorer mental health. Italy also has ‘an excess of doctors, “according to Tom Kenyon, a physician and CEO of the global relief organisation Project Hope. The secret to the Italians’ longevity, according to Kenyon and Adam Drewnowski, director of the Center for Public Health Nutrition of the University of Washington is in the varied diet rich in vegetables and a fresh produce, fruit, lean meats, fruit, and fish, and sprinkled with extra virgin olive oil.

THE TOP 5

In the Bloomberg Global Health Index, each country was ranked based on variables such as life expectancy, frequent causes of death, health risks such as high blood pressure, use of tobacco, malnutrition and availability to clean water. Iceland, Switzerland, Singapore and Australia complete the top five following Italy.