Background information
Training with free weights or machines? That is the question here
by Claudio Viecelli
Dear Switzerland, how are you?
9.11.2023
Translation: Veronica Bielawski
Our health is our most valuable asset – and we have the power to make a significant contribution to it.
Are social inequalities to blame for health inequalities?
On average, 85% of the population in Switzerland described their state of health as good or even very good.
There’s a correlation between the level of education and the state of health. The lower the level of education, the lower the proportion of people who rated their state of health as good or very good. This applies across all age ranges.
Mental health
Disability and impairments
22% of the population stated that they felt slightly restricted in their everyday lives due to a health problem, while 5% stated feeling severely restricted. These values remain largely unchanged since 2012.
High blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes
In the 2022 Swiss Health Survey, 22% of men and 17% of women reported suffering from high blood pressure or taking medication. This proportion increases with age. Over the age of 65, more than one in two (53%) men and 45% of women reported having high blood pressure. This problem has steadily increased since 1992 and now affects 20% of the population and 49% of people aged 65 and over.
Overweight
Physical activity
The importance of exercise and sport when it comes to health is well known. And 76% of the population in Switzerland did, in fact, move enough in 2022 to be classified as active. The 8% who exercised less than 30 minutes per week are considered sedentary.
81% of young adults under the age of 25 get enough exercise, while 5% are sedentary. The differences between the individual age groups are few. At 79%, men are slightly more active compared to women at 73%. The higher the education, the higher the proportion of active people (tertiary education: 80%; compulsory education: 60%).
What’s positive to see is that older people spend less time sitting; meanwhile, 43% of people with a tertiary education spend 8 or more hours a day sitting, compared with 10% of people with no post-compulsory education.
Diet
71% of the population take their diet into consideration and pay attention to certain aspects – an encouraging result. At 66%, men still have some catching up to do compared with 76% of women.
16% stated that they ate at least five portions of fruit per day and/or ate vegetables on at least five days. Here, too, a social gradient is evident. Again, people with a tertiary education are more likely to eat fruit and vegetables regularly than people without post-compulsory education (19% compared to 9%).
In general, meat consumption is on the decline and has been since 1992. Since then, the proportion of people who stated they consumed meat every day has halved (from 25% to 12%).
Alcohol
Over 83% of the population reported drinking alcohol in 2022. 65% of men and 46% of women reported drinking alcohol at least once a week. At 21% compared to 13%, the proportion of women living in abstinence is significantly higher than that of men.
Tobacco
24% of the population reported smoking: 27% of men and 21% of women. Among 65-year-olds, the proportions are largely the same, with the percentage of smokers quickly declining from the age of 65 and up.
Summary and food for thought
Our health is our most valuable asset – so we should care for it. The WHO defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity [2]. This is the basis for this summary and discussion.
and 82.6% say they’re happy. What’s striking, however, is the sharp increase in reported mental stress of 10 percentage points among young women aged 15 to 24 compared to the 2017 health survey. This figure should be closely monitored and measures developed and implemented to relieve the burden on young women.
Critical values
43% of the Swiss population are overweight or obese. Here, too, there’s a considerable social gradient: the risk of obesity is significantly higher among people with no post-compulsory education than those with a university degree (21% compared to 8%) [3].
Indulgence with good judgement
Men also have some improving to do in terms of alcohol and tobacco consumption compared to women, who drink and smoke less. Compared to the 2017 health survey, smoking is on the decline. In 2017, 27% of the population smoked, compared to 24% in 2022 [3]. On the other hand, alcohol consumption between 2017 and 2022 remains unchanged.
As a society, but also as individuals, we need to understand that we’re in control of how we look after our health. We can influence our health in a positive way and choose how we want to grow old. This is possible with simple means. The decisive factors are exercise [4], diet [19], sleep [21] and social interaction [22]. Most of them are virtually free of charge. Exercising outside costs nothing and is medicine for the body and mind.
