UK Healthy Life Expectancy Drops Over Two Years, New Analysis Shows

Britain's healthy life expectancy has declined by more than two years, according to new analysis from the Health Foundation thinktank. The report highlights a troubling trend in a wealthy country amid advances in treating illnesses like obesity and cancer, with people now facing sickness or disability earlier than a decade ago.

The analysis relies on a self-reported survey, which is less objective than birth and death statistics. Mental health among younger adults showed the sharpest deterioration, though physical health improved in some age groups. Healthy life expectancy serves as a key measure of quality of life, with serious implications for public services. By 2028, when the retirement age reaches 67, the average person will spend more than six years in poor health before stopping work. Researchers say the pandemic does not explain the decline. Northern Ireland was excluded for lack of data.

The UK has dropped several places in a ranking of 21 high-income countries and now ranks 20th, just above the US, with Japan at the top. The thinktank urges ministers to prioritize health on a par with economic growth.

The current government made cutting hospital waiting lists—built up under the Conservatives—its top priority. That focus suffered from the decision to abolish NHS England. Yet neither Health Secretary Wes Streeting's actions nor administrative flaws account for the broader problem of worsening population health.

The government's shift toward prevention acknowledges the issue. A new tobacco ban should cut smoking-related illness over time. But other health determinants prove harder to address. Socioeconomic factors like insecure or unsafe work and housing have long contributed to physical and mental illness. When Aneurin Bevan became the first NHS minister, his responsibilities included housing. Austerity-era cuts to council budgets limited opportunities for millions.

Housing reforms include stronger tenants' rights and ambitious building targets. The £5 billion Pride in Place programme tackles regional inequality. The report notes stark geographical disparities: nearly half of London boroughs saw healthy life expectancy improve, while Blackpool and Hartlepool recorded the steepest declines.

Ministers could use more tools if they showed courage. New policies to combat health declines and economic inactivity among young people are due soon. Britain leads western Europe in obesity, but the government has avoided confronting the food and drink industry through product reformulation or alcohol minimum unit pricing, partly to dodge right-wing 'nanny state' criticism.