According to a World Health Organization report recently issued on mortality statistics in Middle Eastern countries, Saudi Arabia has made several advances and achievements in improving the overall health of its citizens and residents over the past 20 years. One of the most important indicators of the level of child health and overall development in a nation is its mortality rate for children under the age of five years. The data collected reveal that the mortality rate for children under five years has decreased from 44 cases out of 1000 live births in the year 1990 to 19.1 cases out of 1000 live births today. Similarly, the infant mortality rate has dropped from 34 cases out of every 1,000 live births in the year 1990 to 16.5 cases out of every 10,000 live births today. The risk of mothers dying while giving birth has also sharply dropped. The mortality rates of women during the labor and delivery process went down from 48 cases out of every 10,000 births in the year 1990 to 14 cases out of 10,000 births. Life expectancy for the average Saudi has gone up to 73.7 years in the year 2010. The life expectancy in the Kingdom has extended 12 additional years from the average life expectancy in the year 1980. The success in improving the health status of the residents in the Kingdom can be attributed to the developments in the health care sector and the overall social, educational, and economic developments in the region. Although advances in health care and immunization of infants and children has greatly curbed deaths caused by the spread of infectious diseases and plagues, chronic diseases related to an affluent lifestyle are emerging and are increasingly claiming the lives of people living in the Kingdom. And although many impressive health accomplishments have been made, more efforts are needed to tackle modern age health problems. The World Health Report stated that 50 percent of all deaths in the Kingdom in the past 10 years have resulted from diabetes, arteriosclerosis and cardiovascular disease, stroke, pulmonary diseases and cancer. The study further stated that the four major categories of life-threatening diseases in the Kingdom, which are diabetes, cardiovascular disease, pulmonary diseases, and cancer, are all linked to common life style practices and environmental factors. Unhealthy lifestyle habits that increase the risk of chronic diseases include: tobacco use in all of its forms, lack of physical activity, obesity and poor nutritional intake. The World Health Report also showed that 50 percent of all adults smoke and that 50 percent of all women are either overweight or obese across the Middle East.
