People in UK spend fewer years in good health than a decade ago, study finds

The thinktank behind the research called for England to introduce minimum unit pricing of alcohol, as is already the case in Scotland. Photograph: Martin Lee/AlamyView image in fullscreenThe thinktank behind the research called for England to introduce minimum unit pricing of alcohol, as is already the case in Scotland. Photograph: Martin Lee/AlamyHealthPeople in UK spend fewer years in good health than a decade ago, study findsExclusive: Health Foundation says Britain is ‘going backwards’ compared with most other rich countries Findings on healthy life expectancy in UK shed light on its deteriorating health Denis Campbell Health policy editorMon 27 Apr 2026 00.00 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on GooglePeople in the UK are spending fewer years in good health than a decade ago, prompting concern that the population’s health is “going backwards”.The sharp decline in Britain’s healthy life expectancy, the amount of time someone spends free of illness or disability, is in sharp contrast to its recent rise in most other rich countries globally.The UK population’s health is poor, getting worse and not undergoing the same steady improvement seen in countries such as Japan, Norway and Spain, according to a new analysis of healthy life expectancy in 21 countries by the Health Foundation thinktank. It went up by an average of four-tenths of a year across the 20 other comparable countries.Healthy life expectancy for men in the UK has fallen from 62.9 years in the 2012-14 period to 60.7 years in 2022-24 and from 63.7 to 60.9 years for women over the same timeframe, it found.It means that the proportion of life a man spends in good health is down from 79% to 77% and, for a woman, from 77% to 73%, the analysis by the Office for National Statistics showed.Chart showing decline in healthy life expectancy in recent yearsThe decline in Britons’ health in recent years is so significant that, in more than 90% of the UK, people now start suffering from illness before the state pension age of 66, the study revealed.“These findings reveal a stark truth – the UK’s health is going backwards”, said Dr Jennifer Dixon, the Health Foundation’s chief executive. “The lights on the dashboard are flashing red. We are the most obese country in western Europe, mental ill health has surged to unprecedented levels and more people than ever before are living with chronic health conditions.”The thinktank said that obesity – which is leading to more cases of diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer – and high numbers of deaths caused by alcohol, drugs and suicide help explain the loss of two years of illness-free life. But people’s worsening self-reported health and deep health inequalities between rich and poor are also key factors, it added.Neither Covid nor overall life expectancy, which remains stable, lie behind the fall. “This suggests that the UK’s deterioration is not inevitable, but reflects country-specific factors,” the analysis concluded. Health experts see healthy life expectancy as the best way of measuring a nation’s health. It is calculated using mortality rates and self-reported health surveys.“The UK’s health is declining and falling behind most other comparable nations,” it added.The report found that the UK was one of only five countries where healthy life expectancy has declined, and it had fallen from 14th to 20th in the 21-nation international league table, with only the US below it.The findings help explain why a record 2.8 million people are too sick…

This excerpt is published under fair use for community discussion. Read the full article at the Guardian.