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Emiratis largest spenders on health care products

Research shows that Emiratis topped the list by spending over $1,000 on personal health expenditure in a month as compared to under $100 most other people in the region spend on themselves on an average.

UAE consumers also topped the list of picking medicines according to the brand name. Also, nearly 90 per cent of GCC residents said they resorted to self-medication rather than seeing a doctor, with nearly a third buying antibiotics without a doctor’s prescription. Interestingly, a considerable number of GCC residents said they would undergo DNA analysis to discover what illness they are likely to develop.

The survey was conducted by YouGov Siraj, a subsidiary of YouGov, UK’s leading online polling and market research company which questioned over 2,000 adults across the UAE, KSA, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait in 
an online poll. The largest number 
of respondents (781) were UAE residents.

“Health for their self and family has become top priority for the people in the GCC countries,” said Jordana Tasker, Communications Director for Healthy People, a consumer division of the Grey Group that commissioned the research.

“This is followed by religion and spirituality, having a happy family followed by children’s education and future,” she said.

Although 49 per cent of the survey’s respondents believed that more personal responsibility is taken over health today, six out of 10 still claimed that they thought they were unhealthy, said Nadim Khoury, Managing Director of Healthy People.

Many of the responses garnered from the research were clearly related to the rapid urbanisation of the Gulf region, with modernisation being cited as something that was both a boon and a problem for wellbeing.

Individuals were found to be pro-active in seeking health care solutions and hence seeking self medication instead of visiting a doctor.

“Over 50 per cent of respondents said that they visit a doctor only if they are very ill,” said Jordana. “What are they doing while waiting? Self medicating?” she asked.

According to Dr Osama Allala from the Ministry of Education, lack of exercise was leading to obesity which in turn was causing high blood pressure in children as young as six to eight years old in the country.

• UAE