Life expectancy improvements has shown signs of stalling in Europe, with England in particular seeing the most stalling. A mixture of poor diet, mass inactivity, and rising obesity rates are, according to experts, the reason for this.
The average annual growth of life expectancy in Europe fell from 0.23 years from 1990 to 2011, to just 0.15 between 2011 and 2019, research published in Lancet Public Health journal has revealed. Of the 20 countries studied, only Norway did not witness a fall in life expectancy growth.
England meanwhile saw the largest decline in improvements. The average annual improvement had fallen from 0.25 between 1990 and 2011, to 0.07 between 2011 and 2019. That’s a decline of 0.18 years. The UK as a whole was the lowest with Northern Ireland (falling by 0.16), and Wales and Scotland (both at 0.15 years) rounding off the top four.
“This important study reinforces that prevention is the cornerstone of a healthier society, and is exactly why it will be such a key part of the 10-year health plan which we are working with [the] government on,” Sarah Price, NHS England’s director of public health, said. “The slowdown in life expectancy improvements, particularly due to cardiovascular disease and cancer, highlights the urgent need for stronger action on the root causes – poor diet, physical inactivity, and obesity.”
The NHS has helped hundreds of thousands of people in losing weight thanks to its 12-week digital weight management programme, Price added. “However, more action is needed across society because we cannot treat our way out of the obesity crisis, and we need to stem it at source.”
The study was led by the University of East Anglia. It examined the changes in 20 countries in Europe between 1990 and 2021. Every country during the Covid pandemic between2019 and 2021, except Ireland, Iceland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Belgium saw declines in life expectancy. Greece and England experienced the largest drops.
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