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Background: Objective was to measure preventable premature loss of life in countries from same geographical area but with considerable differences in social and economic development. By comparing inter-country differences and similarities in premature mortality, acceleration of health-in-all-policies is enhanced., Methods: Preventable premature deaths were described by Potential Years of Life Lost (PYLL). Data consisted of death registers for 2003, 2009 and 2013. PYLL-rates were age-standardized by using standard OECD population from 1980 and expressed as sum of lost life years per 100 000 citizens., Results: In Northern Dimension area, PYLL-rates had declined from 2003 to 2013. In 2013, worst PYLL-rate was in Belarus 9851 and best in Sweden 2511. PYLL-rates among men were twice as high as among women. Most premature losses (1023) were due to external causes. Malignant neoplasms came second (921) and vascular diseases third (816). Alcohol was also an important cause (270) and country differences were over 10-fold., Conclusions: In ND-area, the overall development of public health has been good during 2003-13. Nevertheless, for all countries foci for public health improvement and learning from each other could be identified. Examining the health of populations in countries from relatively similar geographical area with different social history and cultures can provide them with evidence-based tools for health-in-all-policies to advocate health promotion and disease prevention. Gender differences due to preventable premature deaths are striking. The higher the national PYLL-rate, the bigger the PYLL-rate difference between men and women and the loss of human capital., (© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.)

The paper contains data on prevalence of low, normal, excessive body mass and obesity among urban male populations aged 20-54 years in different regions. Relative risk of death associated with body mass was estimated on the basis of a twenty years prospective study of sample populations in Moskva and St-Peterburg and level of attributed risk was used for assessment of contribution of body mass to cardiovascular mortality and mortality from other chronic diseases. Levels of main risk factors, smoking intensity and alcohol consumption were studied in deciles of body mass index distribution.

The state of nutrition was studied in men of varying age groups (20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-54 years) living in different cities of the USSR. The standard method of food ration "daily reproduction" was used to investigate 25% of representative subsample in each age group. It has been found that the daily ration of men living in the European part of the USSR (Moscow, Kiev, Tallinn) is characterized by a rather high caloric value and by a significant imbalance in the consumption of the main food substances.