In recent years, the number of Israelis suffering from diabetes has increased. A study carried out by the Health Ministry found that in 2014-2016, 5.6% of residents had diabetes (data includes all age groups, weighted for uniform comparison between localities).
The number of Jerusalemites with diabetes was slightly lower than the national average, with 53 cases per 1,000 residents (5.3%), for a total of 38,500 cases.
This rate is higher than other large cities in Israel. For example, Tel Aviv residents record a rate of only 4.5%, and in Haifa 4.8% of people had diabetes.
The lowest rates of diabetes can be found in wealthy communities, such as Binyamina-Givat Ada, which reported only 3.7%. Other well-off communities with low rates include Ramat Hasharon and Kiryat Tivon. At the other end of the spectrum, the communities that registered the highest rates of diabetes were Arab and Bedouin villages, such as Jasser A-Zarka, which reported 138 cases per 1,000 residents (13.8%), Kalansawa and Tel Sheva.
The Ministry of Health also examined the percentage of students who suffer from obesity or are overweight.
The study found that in 2014-2016, the national average of 1st grade students who were overweight was 18%; unfortunately, this statistic increased to 30% by the time students reached 7th grade. The rate of overweight students in Jerusalem is similar to the national average (17% and 30% respectively) as well as in Tel Aviv (18% and 28%). Rates in Haifa, however, were a bit higher (20% and 32%).
Source: Health Ministry, Community Health Survey
Translated by Hannah Hochner.
The data refer to all age groups, but are standardized according to the relative sizes of these groups in the locality, which means that the prevalence in each age group is compared to the same group in other localities (or the entire country). This way the age structure (e.g. many kids in Haredi localities) does not effect the stance of the locality (e.g. prevalence may be low in a haredi locality since elderly are more vulnerable for diabetes, but still, the kids in that locality may have higher prevalence than their peers in other places).