Ukrainian War Primary Reason Russian Men are Drinking More and Not Living a Healthy Way of Life, Yefremov Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Jan. 10 – Between the end of 2021 and the end of 2022, the percentage of Russian men leading an unhealthy way of life – drinking too much, eating the wrong foods, and not exercising – jumped for 40.4 percent to 54.9 percent, a trend Igor Yefremov says is the result of stress from the war in Ukraine and especially the risks of mobilization.

            The Gaidar Institute demographer says that such a great increase in such a short time almost certainly is the result of “the participation of Russia in military actions and possibly to an even greater degree, the conduct of mobilization” in the Russian Federation itself (rbc.ru/economics/11/01/2023/63bd3e659a79471e333907fa).

            Stress from those things, Yefremov suggests, is leading ever more Russians to forget the rules of living a health life. That the threat of mobilization plays an even greater role than the war itself is further suggested by the fact that the share of women pursuing a healthy lifestyle this year compared to a year ago has increased.

            Other researchers, including Marina Kolosnitsyna of the Higher School of Economics agree with Yefremov’s analysis of the new Rosstat data and argue that fears among men that they will be mobilized to fight in Ukraine are driving up behaviors like heavy drinking and binge eating that will have negative consequences for a long time to come.