Slovaks begin to experience significant health problems typically associated with getting older earlier than any other nation in the EU, the daily newspaper Pravda reported on Tuesday. Research shows that the average Slovak begins to suffer significant health problems aged only 53.2 years.
At the other end of the scale in the EU is Malta, where the average person reaches 72 before such problems set in. Next on the list were Sweden at 70.8 years and Ireland on 67.3 years. The average for the EU as a whole is 61.9 years. The other countries in the Visegrad Four group also have a considerably better record than Slovakia in this area. Czechs do even better than the EU average, reaching 63.2 years before their health deteriorates significantly, while the figure for Poland is 61.1 and the one for Hungary is 59.9. Diabetes expert Adriana Ilavska notes that Slovaks especially tend to record increased levels of fat in the blood, excess weight and obesity and excessive levels of blood sugar. This tends to be caused by diet and lack of exercise. Too much smoking is another problem. Cardiologist Jan Lietava agreed with this assessment but added that stress is another contributory factor in Slovakia. Sociologist Sylvia Porubanova views the early onset of significant health complications as a hidden problem. People tend to live quite long in Slovakia, but a considerable part of their lives is spent living with ill health. This in turn affects the ability to work and earn money. Both Porubanova and Lietava expect the situation to improve eventually, however, because the younger generations are more health conscious than their counterparts were in the past. All the experts agreed that the best way to tackle the problem in Slovakia is too make people more health conscious via special campaigns.
