South Africans Spend ZAR 30 Bn Annually On Well-Being

A new report by First National Bank (FNB) Life, one of South Africa’s “big five” banks has shown that South Africans spend ZAR 30 Mn on health and fitness annually.

The life insurance provider’s findings are based on the transactional behavior of consumers who bank with FNB.

Lee Bromfield, Chief Executive Officer of FNB Life said, “The report shows that keeping healthy is a top priority for South Africans” adding that access to wellness services such as gyms came at a high cost for its customers.

This report comes after an earlier survey done by Indigo Wellness Index, a global wellness index ranked the Southern African country as the most unhealthy country in the world.

The health index showed that South Africans had a 26 percent chance of dying from cardiovascular diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and chronic respiratory diseases between the ages of 30 and 70.

The index was based on key measures which included depression healthy life expectancy, blood pressure, obesity, happiness, alcohol use and government spending on health.

Deaths as a result of lifestyle-related diseases continue to record a sharp rise in South Africa. WHO estimates that South Africa has a two to three times higher incidence of lifestyle diseases than other developing countries.

These lifestyle-related diseases are mostly due to increased uptake of junk food. Despite South Africa’s tough economic climate, the fast-food sector continues to grow even as other sectors experience stunted growth.

Increased urbanisation continues to popularise junk foods while the traditional foods take a back seat.

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