Question NW1201 to the Minister of Health
20 April 2023 - NW1201
Wilson, Ms ER to ask the Minister of Health
What is the total number of (a) deaths that are caused by (i) obesity and (ii) obesityrelated illnesses annually, (b) persons who have been diagnosed with diabetes since 1 January 2023 and (c) persons who are suffering from hypertension currently?
Reply:
a) (i) Causes of death are statistically derived from death certificates. Obesity will be one of the underlying causes of a health condition that does not appear on the death certificate and therefore a distinct number of deaths caused by obesity is not available. It was observed during the COVID-19 surges that there was link between obesity and deaths.
(ii) Obesity is one of the risk factors for diabetes and hypertension and statistics for these two conditions are provided below.
b) According to the DHIS report, the total number of persons who have been diagnosed with diabetes since 1 January to 28 February 2023 is 46 330.
c) Statistics for hypertension is not collected routinely. We make use of surveys to guide planning and decision making in this regard. According to the SA Demographic and Health Survey 2016, the prevalence for males 15 years and above is 44% and for females of the same age category is 46%.
END.