Health Ministry Official: 55% of Deaths in Iran are Premature

The Deputy Minister of Research and Technology at the Ministry of Health announced that approximately 55% of deaths in Iran are 'premature' and attributed 50% of these to cardiovascular diseases caused by obesity, lack of physical activity, and poor nutrition. According to ISNA news agency's report on Saturday, February 18, Reza Malekzadeh made these statements during the inauguration of the 'Cohort' health monitoring center at the Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences, which is the fifteenth health monitoring center in the country. He stated that the main goal of health monitoring centers is to conduct research to prevent non-communicable diseases to avoid such deaths, adding that 'every year, 213,000 people under 70 and 100,000 people under 55 die from premature deaths.' According to this health ministry official, 'many diseases leading to premature death are non-communicable and arise due to weight gain and obesity, lack of physical activity, poor nutrition, and excessive energy consumption.' Mr. Malekzadeh identified 'cardiovascular diseases' as responsible for 50% of deaths in the country, noting that 'of the 376,000 deaths that occur, nearly 55% are among those under 70 years old.' He considered 'prevention and self-care' as effective factors in increasing lifespan and added that 'unfortunately, research shows that the calorie intake of Iranians is 35% more than needed, leading to obesity in many individuals.' The Deputy Minister of Research at the Ministry of Health stated that 'about 90% of Iranians have minimal physical activity, which will lead to hypertension in 60% and diabetes in 10% of the population.' In addition to the factors identified by this health ministry official as causes of mortality in Iran, air pollution is also the third leading cause of death in the country. In January of this year, Iraj Harirchi, the Deputy Minister of Health, stated that one in ten deaths worldwide is due to air pollution, and in Iran, air pollution is the third leading cause of death among Iranians. The mortality rate from air pollution in Iran was 17,000 people per year in 1990, which significantly increased to over 21,000 people per year by 2013.