Our unhealthy nation

Abstract

Our unhealthy nationCOVID-19 has unveiled some uncomfortable truths for the UK. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study found that Britain had the worst healthy life expectancy in Europe. 1 This finding was driven by obesity, hypertension, chronic respiratory conditions, excess alcohol use, and inactivity, compounded in some areas by poor physical, economic, and social environments.Our national health is worse than we thought: the analysis by Outcomes-Based Healthcare using objective National Health Service (NHS) clinical data found that on average, women in England get their first major health condition when they are aged only 55 years, and in the poorest areas when they are aged only 47 years. 2 Moreover, people in low-income areas live with ill-health for nearly 20 years longer than those in the highest-income areas. We have known this fact for many years but have not done enough to change it. Now is the time to do so.This state of poor health has meant that Britain was inadequately prepared for a virus that is most severe for the least healthy in our society. More people have died in Britain from COVID-19 pro rata than most other countries. 3 This is in part the result of our poor national health. We have the highest obesity rates in Europe and people who are obese (body-mass index ≥30 kg/m²) have a 40% greater risk of dying from COVID-19. 4 People with chronic respiratory problems, diabetes, or coronary heart disease are also all at greater risk. 3•9 million people in Britain have diabetes, 5 and an estimated 4•0 million people have untreated hypertension. 6 These risks and chronic conditions are more prevalent in people on low incomes and in poor communities, so more poor people die from COVID-19 than people on high incomes from wealthy areas.COVID-19 has exposed the lack of action on prevention and population health improvement over many years. It would be a mistake to think that the solution to future infections lies only in better vaccines and more hospitals. We need to prevent illnesses, both contagious and chronic ones.The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the Conservative government manifesto declared that his government would work "for everyone to have five extra years of healthy independent life by 2035 and

The Relation Between Restriction Policies against Covid-19, Economic Growth and Mortality Rate in Society

“…The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates that the effectiveness of scientific and technological interventions in backing public policies relies on numerous social and institutional factors (Raleigh, 2020). Indeed, if people are unable to adhere to the policy responses of restrictions, they fail to be fully effective (Green et al, 2021). Effective response policies also rely on transparent and truthful communication, as well as an ability to counteract misinformation so that restrictions can be complied with (Ball, 2021).…”

What the COVID-19 pandemic reveals about science, policy and society

“…Widespread testing makes little difference unless the results can be conveyed quickly and then acted on. Deadly infectious diseases will expose and exploit the inequalities in society: the greatest vulnerability to infection and serious illness tend to occur in areas of greatest deprivation, making social inequality not only iniquitous in itself but also a public-health hazard—not least because of the way it exacerbates risk factors such as obesity and chronic respiratory problems [ 26 ]. And outcomes depend on clear and honest communication, and an ability to overcome agents of misinformation—an issue initially for compliance with restrictions, and now for the vaccine uptake essential to fully suppress the virus.…”

The longevity society

“…46 According to Scott and colleagues, 47 achieving a full compression of morbidity is more valuable than any further gains in life expectancy. This suggestion makes it important for governments to set targets for healthy life expectancy, 48 as they also do for other important variables such as inflation and CO₂ emissions.…”