BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Brunei is the second healthiest country in Southeast Asia, according to a recent study.

Data from the 2019 edition of the Bloomberg Healthiest Country Index listed Brunei as the 44th healthiest country in the world, a slide from its 37th rank in the previous edition of the index published in 2017.

The ranking however sees Brunei as the second healthiest country among its Southeast Asian counterparts. Singapore sits in first with a global ranking of 8th.

The index grades nations based on variables including life expectancy while imposing penalties on risks such as tobacco use and obesity. It also takes into consideration environmental factors including access to clean water and sanitation.

The 2016 edition of the Global Nutrition Report ranked Brunei as the top country for obesity prevalence in adults among Southeast Asian countries, with 18.1 percent of Brunei residents aged 18 and above grappling with the condition.

Brunei's Ministry of Health released its Health Information Booklet that same year which showed that 15.2 percent of 25,686 students screened were overweight. 19.4 percent of the students were obese.

Bloomberg's index ranked Spain and Italy as the healthiest and second healthiest country in the world respectively, followed by Iceland.

Japan was the healthiest Asian nation, jumping three places from the 2017 edition of the index into fourth with Switzerland trailing in fifth.