When it comes to life expectancy, the UK is falling down the global ranks, according to new analysis.
Researchers found that 70 years ago people in the UK had one of the longest life expectancies ratings in the world and it ranked 7th globally behind countries such as Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
The new analysis has been published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine and it states that in 2021, the UK was ranked 29th.
Global life expectancy ratings from 1952 to 2021 were examined by academics from the University of Oxford and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
They found that, over seven decades, the UK has done worse than all G7 countries except the USA.
Having said this, life expectancy has increased since the start of the study but similar countries have seen larger increases, the experts said.
The fall down the ranks has been decades in the making – this includes a rise in income inequalities in the UK during and after the 1980s, the authors said.
Professor Martin McKee, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: “That rise also saw an increase in the variation in life expectancy between different social groups.
“One reason why the overall increase in life expectancy has been so sluggish in the UK is that in recent years it has fallen for poorer groups.”
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— North East and North Cumbria NHS (@NENC_NHS) February 3, 2023
Nine of our 13 local authority areas have a healthy life expectancy of under 60 years.
To make a difference we need to look at the wider factors effecting health.
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Dr Lucinda Hiam, of the University of Oxford, said: “The rankings show that the only G7 country to do worse than the UK is the USA.”
On the current cost of living crisis, Dr Hiam added: “In the short term, the government has an acute crisis to address.
“However, a relative worsening of population health is evidence that all is not well.
“It has historically been an early sign of severe political and economic problems.
“This new analysis suggests that the problems the UK faces are deep-seated and raises serious questions about the path that this country is following”.
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