LIFE expectancy in England is falling faster than anywhere else in Europe – and expanding waistbands are to blame.
Advances in life expectancy between 1990 and 2011 have been attributed to improvements in heart disease and cancer care.
But poor diets, low levels of exercise and increasing body mass index (BMI) scores have been linked to the slow down of the these improvements in 2011 to 2019.
As part of a new study, academics wanted to asses life expectancy advances across 20 European countries from 1990 to 2021.
Researchers, led by experts from the University of East Anglia (UEA), compared several factors linked to life expectancy across England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
All countries showed annual improvements in life expectancy in 1990 to 2011, with an overall increase of an average of 0.23 years.
From 1990 to 2011, life expectancy in England rose by an average of 0.25 years. This slowed to an average increase of 0.07 years in 2011 to 2019.
Researchers said England experienced the largest decline in life expectancy improvement during the period studied.
Between 2019 and 2021, which includes the first part of the Covid-19 pandemic, most countries saw a fall in life expectancy except for Ireland, Iceland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.
Researchers said that the countries which “best maintained” improvements in life expectancy had fewer heart disease and cancer deaths.
The researchers have now called for government action to improve overall population health, including helping people have better diets and more exercise.
Lead researcher Professor Nick Steel, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said: “Advances in public health and medicine in the 20th century meant that life expectancy in Europe improved year after year, but this is no longer the case.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Top 3 foods that ‘increase your chances of living past 90’, according to longevity guru ” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6344741609112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]“We found that deaths from cardiovascular diseases were the primary driver of the reduction in life expectancy improvements between 2011-19. Unsurprisingly, the Covid pandemic was responsible for decreases in life expectancy seen between 2019-21.
“Countries like Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, and Belgium held onto better life expectancy after 2011, and saw reduced harms from major risks for heart disease, helped by government policies.
“In contrast, England and the other UK nations fared worst after 2011 and also during the Covid pandemic, and experienced some of the highest risks for heart disease and cancer, including poor diets.”
He added: “Life expectancy for older people in many countries is still improving, showing that we have not yet reached a natural longevity ceiling.
“Life expectancy mainly reflects mortality at younger ages, where we have lots of scope for reducing harmful risks and preventing early deaths.”
Find out your life expectancy using our new interactive calculator
We’ve used data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to figure out how long your lifeline might be.
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While the UEA study suggests life expectancy in England is slowing down, the latest ONS stats suggest that 17.9 per cent of girls and 11.5 per cent of boys born in 2023 are expected to live to at least the age of 100, increasing to 19.9 per cent and 13.1 per cent respectively for babies born in 2030.
These stats will continue to rise, reaching 24.7 per cent and 17.3 per cent for girls and boys born in 2047.
These latest projections are “slightly lower” than estimates in 2022, which used 202-based population data.
It projected more than a quarter (27.7 per cent) of girls born in 2047 to live until at least 100, along with more than a fifth (21.5 per cent) of boys.
Getting up to 100 has long been considered an impressive feat – so much so that Brits who turn 100 receive a special letter from the monarch to mark the milestone.
The latest ONS data suggests girls born today are expected to live to an impressive 90-years-old – three years longer than their male counterpart, who on average will reach 86.7.
This increases to 92.2 years and 89.3 years respectively for babies born in 2047.
Females aged 65 in the UK in 2023 can expect to live a further 22.5 years, while males can expect to live another 19.8 years, projected to rise to 24.4 years and 21.8 years respectively by 2047.
The gap between male and female life expectancy at birth has dipped from 4.4 years in 1981 to 3.4 years in 2023 and is projected to fall to 2.5 years by 2072.
Kerry Gadsdon of the ONS said: “This is likely due to improvements in lifestyle, for example reduction in smoking rates and the working conditions of men over several decades, as well as advances in healthcare, for example the prevention and treatment of heart disease.”
All data is based on what is known as “cohort life expectancy” which takes into account mortality patterns of those of the same age.
The ONS said this is a “more realistic measure” of life expectancy, as it reflects likely improvements in mortality in the future, instead of assuming mortality rates will stay the same.
It said there was “considerable uncertainty about the prospects for mortality improvement rates in the long term”.
