AIBU to think poor health in later life is a UK problem?

[BePunnyLilacCrow]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c20q07w3gl9o

I just read an article about healthy life expectancy in the UK, and I find it quite sad that we are basically at the bottom of the list among the world’s richest countries. Even the US is better than the UK on average??

Life expectancy in the UK is:

Men: ~79-80 years
Women: ~83-84 years

BUT

Men spend about 19–20 years in poorer health
Women spend about 22–23 years in poorer health

I know that the UK has relatively good overall life expectancy, but that mainly means we are keeping people alive for longer. Unfortunately, those extra years are often not spent in good health. These facts are not true for wealthier parts of the UK, but even the more affluent areas still tend to have lower healthy life expectancy than many average European countries. I am curious what
people think about the contributing factors? I think:

• Weaker family/social connections (I seriously think this is a big one)
• Obviously diet + high consumption of UPFs
• Low every day
activity (again, loneliness contributes to this esp. for the elderly)

There are many reasons, but in my opinion these contribute a lot. Especially weak social life I see in the UK compared to most countries I’ve lived/been to. For example something as simple as cooking together with people, or for family gatherings etc can have a huge impact on how people eat, because you are encouraged more to home cook food in that way, rather than just get a greasy takeaway or eat out, or just get a rubbish supermarket ready meals most people have etc.

This post is not about judging anyone’s lifestyle choices. But I think we should all be concerned about this because there is no point in living longer if it’s spent in illness. And I’m saying this as someone under 30.

What do you think? How can we improve these measures and live a better life in the UK?

Yes. Very serious marsbarslice and a quick google will tell you the same

And they always have wine with their lunch.

@Legomania

Yes & it’s not because they are living longer

www.theguardian.com/society/2024/oct/07/baby-boomers-living-longer-but-are-in-worse-health-than-previous-generations

I’m like two different people with a twenty year age gap in the winter and summer. If the UK were in the Med we would be a very different people.

Google will tell you anything you want it to if you feed it with the right phrases.

My parents and their friends pay for private hip replacements physio, knee surgery and cataract treatment so that they can remain active, sociable and able to drive without having to wait for months/years for the NHS. That is presumably one of the reasons people who are better off are healthier later in life.

It’s interesting that you mention the social aspect of this. I listened to two GPs being interviewed on R4’s The World at One today, and they both talked about isolation as an illness in the UK, and the huge impact that social isolation has on a person’s health. It sounds like a big factor in explaining these worrying statistics.

Weather is a red herring imo. We've had healthier population in past times with the same weather.

marsbarslice Then check out Google scholar if you’d prefer the research which confirms we have the longest working hours in Europe

HTH

I listened to some GPs on radio 4 talking about this- they were blaming poor housing, insecure housing, insecure work lack of community/isolation - often coming with unemployment/low empolyment.

The also talked about mental exhaustion batteling systems not designed well - whether that was benefit systems or heath care - which can cover heath care ineqauliteis - poor areas have less access to GP and can find it harder to access diagnostic services - often causes stress and depression which doesn't help health.

I also think the NHS is bad a chronic conditions.

There are also lifestyle factors - diets, excerise - some money driven some time- access to green space - even polution levels vary between areas poor area having less rosources to insit on changes and poor peopel less options about where to live.

I've seen toll elder and spouse care has taken on mum - battleing NHS - which is often every inflexible to point with DGP she had to give up work to deal with appointments - then dad slowly getting very isolated. That started when they were around 50 - and then they started with ill health - a pattern GP mentioned. My IL by contrast avoided elder care and despite phycial jobs and retried late 60s they health in mid 70s is actaully very good and they remain very active. It'a all harder when there is phycial distance and travel - whcih there was with DGP and parents becuase work meant they had to move - not as far as we have but enough to add to stress.

I never said we didn't have long working hours but that doesn't also mean we're not lazy outside of work.

A 40 hour working week still leaves us with 128 hours to exercise, eat well, sleep, socialise and do whatever else we need to do. It's hardly like we're pushed for time.

My worry is for young people - so many of them are obese and I think this is the downside of body positivity. Yes, body shaming isn't nice, but my generation (Gen X) were told when we were too fat and needed to lose some weight and while there are plenty of us who are too heavy, I think most of us at least have the awareness about what a healthy weight is and isn't. Some young people are super healthy (like health obsessed), but others are just plain obese and don't seem to care, which is quite worrying.

Yes - if you can avoid the waits and decline that will clearly help.

Our health care is very poor.
And yes as above all the wealthy people I know go private.
My poor mum wasn't so lucky, died hours after seeing a Dr who didn't even pick up how ill she was. I have found myself battling to push for diagnostics in recent years whereas previously you would just get referred. Cheapest options first these days I find.
Am in Scotland so there is no 2 week pathway. I think we have the highest numbers of people dying from cancer due to late diagnoses.

This!

What’s scary if today’s over 50s are unhealthy despite better pensions, more homeowners, lower pension age etc what on earth are generations under them going to be like!

Yes it’s a UK problem (if we’re referring to Europe) old, mouldy damp housing, low wages, soaring rents, inadequate welfare system, inadequate health service.. I mean need I go on?

I wonder if we had to pay for our health care whether people would take better care of themselves.

Is it because we take the NHS for granted that we take our health for granted too?

I partly agree but if you choose to have kids, you HAVE to try. I understand people falling into despair, and our government is disgraceful. But when you have dependent kids, you can't just feed them crap. Previous generations had war and other serious problems but still cooked etc

There was also much more evening classes to meet people and gain new skills. They seem to have completely gone.

IL do a lot of socilaising - some of that is going to the pub but pub closures have hit their area quite hard. So while the alchol consumption probably wasn't great for health the social side was/ is there for them but declining.

Does that work in the US??

Euro models are what we should have imo.

To be fair Gen Z smoke and drink less and many eat well.

A 40 hour working week still leaves us with 128 hours to exercise, eat well, sleep, socialise and do whatever else we need to do. It's hardly like we're pushed for time

I think this is too simplistic, I’m trying to fit in more exercise but finding it so tough. I already get up 5:45, don’t work p/t, juggle pick ups and drop offs with DH. I had planned to reduce my hours but finances are tight now.

I get this but has the weather got worse? People were healthier before.

And by this logic, the coldest countries would have the fattest and unhealthiest populations - is this the case?

I'm an older person and one of the things that stops me going out and about as much as I would like to is the fact that the area I live in is so awful. It is a litter and fly tipping strewn dump with street drinking and open drug dealing going on. Very few people put their wheelie bins away so the narrow streets are actually quite hazardous to walk down if you have poor vision, moblity problems or are a parent pushing a buggy. I live reasonably close to two green spaces but to get there and back I have to walk past so much rubbish that it just makes me depressed so I don't often bother. I don't like inviting people round as even though my home is ok I am embarrassed by the area I live in. Moving is not a finacial option. I am sure that living in a decent area adds to a person's healthy years but I am not sure how this would be proved as there are so many other variables to factor in such as consuming less healthy food, , smoking, and alcohol comsumption which tend to be higher in more economically deprived places.