STUDIES SHOW WHY PEOPLE DON’T LIVE AS LONG ANYMORE

Life expectancy has stopped rising at the same pace, with obesity, chronic disease, and COVID-19 among the main culprits.

Life spans in wealthy nations have consistently risen for more than 100 years, thanks to better living conditions, healthcare innovations, and enhanced public health measures. Lower infant death rates, enhanced nutrition, and successful management of infectious illnesses like tuberculosis and cholera have played key roles in this progress.

In the past several decades, reduced mortality from heart disease and some cancers has further lengthened average lifespans. Yet since 2011, this improvement has decelerated, causing experts to question longevity trends.

A study by University of East Anglia researchers and collaborators, published in The Lancet Public Health, identifies poor lifestyle habits, increasing obesity prevalence, and COVID-19 as primary factors behind this deceleration.

England shows the most dramatic slowdown in life expectancy gains, indicating that without more robust public health strategies, coming generations might not live longer than those before them.

THE ROLE OF CHRONIC DISEASES AND LIFESTYLE CHOICES

Heart-related illnesses have significantly contributed to slowing life expectancy gains. From 1990 to 2011, medical progress, including improved treatments for hypertension and cholesterol issues, substantially decreased deaths from heart disease.

However, these benefits began leveling off after 2011. Increasing obesity levels, unhealthy eating patterns, and insufficient exercise have counteracted medical innovations, causing heart health improvements to stall.

Professor Nick Steel from the University of East Anglia’s Norwich Medical School explains, “After 2011, major risks such as obesity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol either increased or stopped improving in almost all countries. Better cholesterol and blood pressure treatments have not been enough to offset the harms from obesity and poor diets.”

The extensive Global Burden of Disease 2021 research, incorporating work from approximately 12,000 scientists across 160 nations, supports these conclusions. Analysis of data from 19 European countries shows that despite ongoing improvements in medical treatments, health risk factors like obesity and physical inactivity are deteriorating.

Nations with robust public health initiatives, such as Norway and Denmark, have better sustained their life expectancy improvements. Meanwhile, England and other parts of the UK have experienced more significant declines in longevity gains.

COVID 19 AND IT’S LASTING EFFECT ON LONGEVITY

The COVID-19 pandemic reversed longevity progress in numerous countries, causing an unprecedented jump in death rates. Unlike previous temporary decreases during severe flu outbreaks, life expectancy hasn’t recovered as quickly following the pandemic.

Healthcare system disruptions during COVID-19 postponed treatments for chronic conditions, further contributing to increasing mortality. Moreover, persistent complications from COVID-19, including ongoing heart and lung problems, may continue impacting population health in years ahead.

Sarah Price, NHS England’s National Director of Public Health, stressed the importance of preventative health strategies: “The slowdown in life expectancy improvements, particularly due to cardiovascular disease and cancer, highlights the urgent need for stronger action on the root causes—poor diet, physical inactivity, and obesity. More action is needed across society because we cannot treat our way out of the obesity crisis, and we need to stem it at its source.”

Governments now face a critical choice: invest in preventive health measures today or confront escalating healthcare expenses and diminished life expectancy tomorrow. Nations that actively addressed health risks before the pandemic, like Sweden and Belgium, showed greater resilience to its enduring effect

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