ABU DHABI // A large majority of residents believe they are healthy, according to a study, but experts warn many are being unduly optimistic.
A survey of 1,014 residents as part of the 2011 Edelman Health Barometer found that 84 per cent of respondents believed they were in good or excellent health.
But figures from health authorities paint a less rosy picture. Health Authority - Abu Dhabi (Haad) statistics cited in the study show that the emirate has high rates of chronic illnesses such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Experts said many of those diseases did not have visible symptoms until their later stages, leading to an illusion of health for some residents.
"That's probably the single most important factor," said Dr Sabina Al Aidarous, a family medicine specialist at Dubai Healthcare City. "So people may be walking around with these problems, but are not aware that they have them."
That danger is magnified in the UAE, which has higher incidences of such "invisible" diseases. Only 14 per cent of respondents globally believed their health was excellent, compared with 32 per cent of Emiratis and 27 per cent of expatriates in the UAE.
Health authorities estimate that obesity affects nearly 33 per cent of men and 38 per cent of women in Abu Dhabi, while cardiovascular diseases account for nearly a quarter of deaths countrywide. Between 19 and 25 per cent of residents have diabetes.
Part of the problem, said Dr Fatima Al Maskari, the associate professor of community medicine at UAE University, was that residents did not go for regular screenings.
"Routine check-ups are not being done," she said. "For example, a person may not know they have diabetes or are at risk of developing the disease because they have not checked their blood sugar levels."
Jalal bin Thaneya, an Emirati who lives and works in Dubai, agreed that residents were not fully aware of health risks.
"Obviously, they are in denial," he said. "They think they are in good health, but, if I look around, I think maybe 75 per cent of the Emirati population [has issues]."
Only 58 per cent of Emiratis were willing to take responsibility for their own health, compared with 71 per cent of expatriates in the UAE and 79 per cent of respondents globally.
Experts said this was due to a difference in doctor-patient relationships.
"In the Middle East, this relationship is more paternalistic, where patients rely on the doctor to tell them what to do," Dr Al Aidarous said. "While in the West, the responsibility is distributed - the doctor informs the patient what illness he has, and then it is the patient's responsibility to take action."
Respondents said a lack of exercise and unhealthy diets were the top two barriers to improving health in the UAE.
Smoking and the use of tobacco products was perceived as the next biggest problem, but it was seen as less of a problem by those in the UAE - 21 per cent - than in the rest of the world - 30 per cent.
Dr Fatima Al Marzooqi, a health educator at the Ministry of Health, said that could be because people mistakenly thought smoking shisha was less dangerous than cigarettes. "Sometimes, if it's from your culture, you tend to accept it better than stuff imported."
Dr Al Aidarous said the value of healthy living needed to be taught from a very young age.
"It's much easier when attitudes are still forming, rather than when people older and everything is set in stone."
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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
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