UK’s healthy life expectancy falls two years - Study

A stark new study reveals a deeply concerning trend: the number of years Britons enjoy good health has plummeted by more than two years over the last decade. This means more of us are suffering from ailments well before reaching retirement age, painting a grim picture of the nation's well-being. As Andrew Mooney, co-author of the study and principal data analyst with the Health Foundation, bluntly stated, 'The UK’s health is deteriorating and slipping further behind comparable nations.'

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The UK’s health is deteriorating and slipping further behind comparable nations.

Between 2012-2014 and 2022-2024, healthy life expectancy (HLE) in the UK saw a significant drop, falling from 62.9 years for men and 63.7 years for women to just under 61 for both. This measure, which reflects the average number of years a person can expect to live in good health, is a critical indicator of population health. The findings represent a 'watershed moment' as our years of good health now fall below the current retirement age of 66, which is set to rise further. This decline reinforces growing evidence of declining health, particularly among the working-age population.

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These findings reinforce growing evidence about declining health in the UK, particularly among the working-age population.

Alarmingly, the UK is among only five high-income countries that saw HLE fall between 2011 and 2021, and we experienced the second steepest decline. Only the United States now fares worse. Furthermore, the report exposes widening inequalities, with a staggering gap of nearly 20 years in healthy life expectancy between the most affluent and most deprived areas in England. In wealthy Richmond, men can expect to live in good health for 69.3 years and women for 70.3 years, while in the deprived seaside resort of Blackpool, this figure drops to a mere 50.9 years for men. Successive governments have failed to implement the necessary long-term actions, resulting in a substantial human cost and growing economic and fiscal impacts.

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Successive governments have failed to take the long-term action needed to address this, resulting in a growing economic and fiscal impact as well as a substantial human cost.