England’s waists are expanded, leading to the country behind other European nations in life expectancy, suggests a study.
Researchers call for urgent action to combat unhealthy lifestyle with reference to bad diets and lack of training as key factors.
While progress in heart disease and cancer care increased life expectancy between 1990 and 2011, these improvements slowed significantly from 2011 to 2019.
Researchers attribute this slowdown to Rising Body Mass Index (BMI) scores, bad diets and low training levels.
The study, led by experts from the University of East Anglia (UEA), examined trends of life expectancy in 20 European countries from 1990 to 2021.
The researchers compared various factors that influenced life expectancy in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and other European nations, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway , Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
Between 1990 and 2011, all countries experienced annual improvements to life expectancy, an average of 0.23 years. However, the rate of improvement between 2011 and 2019 fell in total except a country (Norway).
In England, life expectancy increased by an average of 0.25 years annually from 1990 to 2011.
This slowed to an average increase of 0.07 years in 2011 to 2019.
Researchers said England experienced the greatest improvement in life expectancy during the period investigated.
Between 2019 and 2021, which includes the first part of the Covid-19 pandemic, so most countries a decrease in life expectancy except for Ireland, Iceland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
Researchers said that the countries that “best maintained” improvements in life expectancy had fewer heart diseases and cancer deaths.
They called for state actions to improve overall population health, including helping people get better diets and more training.
Management scientist Nick Steel, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said: “Progress 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.
“We found that deaths from heart -vessel diseases were the primary driving force for the reduction in improvements in life expectancy between 2011–19. Not surprisingly, the covid pandemic was responsible for falling in life expectancy between 2019-21. “
He continued: “Countries such as Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Denmark and Belgium held on to better expected life expectancy after 2011 and then reduced damage from major risks of heart disease, aided by government policies.
“In contrast, England and the other British nations managed worst worst after 2011 and also during the covid pandemic and experienced some of the highest risks of heart disease and cancer, including bad diets.”
On the question of England specifically, he said: “We are not doing well with heart disease and cancer.
“We have high dietary risks in England and high levels of physical inactivity and high obesity.”
Trends are decades long and there is not a quick solution, he said.