- New report shows that South Asians suffer heart attacks six years earlier than the rest of the world and that heart disease has become the region’s top killer of adults.
More than half of all diseases suffered across eight South Asian countries today are chronic ailments such as cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure, along with injuries. The average life expectancy in the region is now 64 and rising thanks to poverty reduction and rapid economic growth in several countries, such as India.
The World Bank report says that many South Asians over the next couple generations will face health challenges in their twilight years linked to impoverished childhoods when they did not get enough to eat.