People in the UK are spending more years in bad health than a decade ago, with healthy life expectancy having now fallen below state pension age in most areas.
The sharp decline – which suggests the population’s health is ‘going backwards’ – in healthy years is in stark contrast to its improvement in most other rich countries.
In terms of how many years someone spends free of illness or disability, the UK now ranks 20th out of the 21 countries analysed by the Health Foundation think tank.
Meanwhile, in Japan, Norway and Sweden, healthy life expectancy continues to steadily improve.
In the UK, healthy life expectancy has fallen from nearly 63 years a decade ago, to 60.7 years in 2022-24 for men, and from 63.7 to 60.9 for women.
This means that on average men now only spend 77 per cent of their life in good health, whilst women will spend over a quarter of theirs in bad health.
According to the analysis of by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), more than 90 per cent of people in the UK now start suffering from poor health before their 66th birthday, when the state pension comes into affect.
The Health Foundation, which carried out the research, said the two-year drop could in part be explained by rising obesity rates, substance abuse and the nation’s poor mental health – but added that socioeconomic inequalities are also key factors.
‘These findings reveal a stark truth – the UK’s health is going backwards,’ Dr Jennifer Dixon, the think tank’s chief executive said.
‘The lights on the dashboard are flashing red.
‘We are the most obese country in western Europe, mental ill health surged to unprecedented levels and more people than ever before are living with chronic health conditions.’
The report found that the UK is one of just five countries where the situation is getting worse, falling from 14th to 20th in the international league table, with only the US spending less years in good health.
Recent analysis has also revealed a stark postcode lottery, with those living in the most deprived areas dying almost ten years earlier than those in more affluent areas.
But its not just that they’re living longer. Girls born in Kensington and Chelsea – one of London’s most affluent boroughs – are expected to spend nearly 80 per cent of their life in good health, well above the national average of 73.
The thinktank said that obesity, which is thought to be behind the recent surge in more young people developing cancer and high numbers of deaths caused by substance abuse and suicide explain the loss of two-years of good health,
But the population’s worsening health can also be explained by entrenched economic inequalities.
Interestingly, Covid did not seem to contribute to the decline. And neither did the country’s aging population.
‘This suggests that the UK’s deterioration is not inevitable, but reflects country-specific factors,’ the research team concluded.
Unlike lifespan, which simply measures how long someone is likely to live, healthy life expectancy refers to the average number of years a person can expect to live in good health — without chronic illness, disability or cognitive decline.
As such it is viewed as one of the best ways of measuring a nation’s health.
Experts say the findings shed light on why a record 2.8million people are now classed too sick to work – with more than 11 million sick notes dished out by NHS staff in England last year.
The leading documented cause was ‘mental and behavioural disorders’, such as anxiety and depression which is also taking its toll on younger generations with growing numbers of 16 to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training.
In response, a spokesperson from the Department of Health and Social Care, labelled the findings a ‘disgrace’.
‘It is a disgrace that as a nation we became unhealthier over the last decade which is why we are committed to tackling health inequalities and building a healthier Britain.,’ they told the Guardian.
It hopes that the blanket ban on advertising junk food on television before 9pm, the proposed ban on vaping in cars when children are present, and the rollout of obesity medications will help ‘parents raise the healthies generation of children ever’ to tackle the problem head on.
But, according to Dr Dixon the government are somewhat responsible for the ‘huge human and economic cost’, with governments doing little to address preventable health conditions.
‘Successive government, including the current one, have known this but failed to take the action needed.
‘Turning the tide requires a new approach that goes far beyond patching up the NHS to tacking the root causes of poor health,’ she said.