15 years after fall of communism - although living longer, Czechs are dying out

As the fifteenth anniversary of the Velvet Revolution fast approaches, many people in the Czech Republic have been taking stock of the vast changes since then. Take the nation's health: Czechs aren't growing any taller but men seem to be putting on weight. More diseases are being diagnosed but are also being treated more efficiently. That's what statistical data tell us about Czech population 15 years after the fall of communism.

15 years after fall of communism - although living longer, Czechs are dying out

A lot can change in a person's life in fifteen years, and in the case of the Czech Republic the decade and a half since the end of the communist regime has meant a significant change in the lifestyle and overall health of the country's population.

Both Czech men and women live longer by around four years. Fewer people are dying of cancer and cardiovascular diseases than before 1989. That is thanks to new methods of diagnostics and prevention, new drugs against high blood pressure and high cholesterol level, and also advanced methods of surgery.

Beside that, the lifestyle and eating habits of Czechs seem to have changed. They exercise more and eat more fruit, vegetables, and fish and poultry meat, rather than the vast amounts of pork and beef they used to before the fall of communism. In 1989 an average Czech consumed 20 kilograms more meat than in 2002.

Over the past 15 years, Czechs have discovered healthier cuisines, such as various Mediterranean styles and have come to appreciate vegetable oils more than pig fat, a traditional ingredient in Czech cuisine.

Although fewer adults indulge in tobacco, the State Health Care Institute has registered an increase in the number of young smokers. According to international statistics, Czechs still rank among the first in the consumption of alcoholic beverages.

A number of demographic changes have occurred as a result of the political and economic changes. Czechs have a lower birth rate and many women tend to postpone the birth of their first child until their thirties. This has resulted in a steady decrease of the population in recent years, with more Czechs dying every year than babies being born.