Crumbling healthcare system with months-long waiting lists, bad weather, massive social inequalities, innutrious cuisine and [largest consumption of ultra-processed food in Europe – over 50% compared to 14% for France, Italy and Greece]([https://awesomealgarve.com/2018/02/05/portugal-leads-europe-in-healthy-food/](https://awesomealgarve.com/2018/02/05/portugal-leads-europe-in-healthy-food/))
Clickbait much?
Breakfast
Thatcher policies and then more than a decade of Tory government?
It says in the article the UK has the same life expectancy as Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Austria?
Like all complex problems there is no one answer. Contributing factors may include
Life is tough for many so simple comforts like fags, booze and fry-ups become daily.
The famed NHS has been run into the ground by right wing governments who don’t care about it. Our cancer survival rate is really poor.
Simplistically put, there is a culture here in U.K. that sees the body as a vehicle for getting pleasure rather than something to be cherished and improved.
The climate from what we refer to as The Midlands travelling north can be tough if you are old or infirm.
Mix these things together and it can easily impact on survey averages. If you drill down I would expect to see the low life expectancy stats mainly composed of people from specific areas in specific socio-economic groups
Remove Scotland.. does that help?
I wonder if drugs play a role. I have no idea if they use more or less than other countries, but since heart issues are often mentioned as the first cause of mortality in the west, doing blow everyday cannot be a good thing.
The combination of alcohol and NHS.
Successive years of conservative governments have been degrading heath services, culture and social support.
UK life expectancy is 81 years – the same as Austria, Denmark, Germany and The Netherlands. Other European countries cited in this article have a life expectancy of 82 years – such as France.
Not exactly a big deal, is it? Worth noting that prior to the Covid pandemic, UK life expectancy was also 82 years.
Journalist probably failed maths. When everything is clustered around 82, then 81 isn’t an outlier.
Also “the only other outlier is the US” Other than UK but really, it’s the UK, Denmark, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and they aren’t outliers.
The US at 76 is the only one. Poor healthcare are mentioned is mentioned, but there are many more reasons, poor food, deadlier traffic, higher infant mortality, higher murder/violence mortality, poor mobility and so on.
Balconing
Life expectancy is 76 in the US??? As someone pointed out earlier there are several reasons for that but I can never wrap my head around their aversion to universal healthcare. 76.
Weird that the article states our life expectancy is basically the same as comparable countries like Germany , yet people pile to tell us why we’re failing with a bunch of boring stereotypes like terrible food clearly to blame… etc .. really is tiring sometimes.
Barry, 63 singlehandedly pulling the statistics down
18 comments
beer ?
Alcohol and shitty cuisine.
Crumbling healthcare system with months-long waiting lists, bad weather, massive social inequalities, innutrious cuisine and [largest consumption of ultra-processed food in Europe – over 50% compared to 14% for France, Italy and Greece]([https://awesomealgarve.com/2018/02/05/portugal-leads-europe-in-healthy-food/](https://awesomealgarve.com/2018/02/05/portugal-leads-europe-in-healthy-food/))
Clickbait much?
Breakfast
Thatcher policies and then more than a decade of Tory government?
It says in the article the UK has the same life expectancy as Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Austria?
Like all complex problems there is no one answer. Contributing factors may include
Life is tough for many so simple comforts like fags, booze and fry-ups become daily.
The famed NHS has been run into the ground by right wing governments who don’t care about it. Our cancer survival rate is really poor.
Simplistically put, there is a culture here in U.K. that sees the body as a vehicle for getting pleasure rather than something to be cherished and improved.
The climate from what we refer to as The Midlands travelling north can be tough if you are old or infirm.
Mix these things together and it can easily impact on survey averages. If you drill down I would expect to see the low life expectancy stats mainly composed of people from specific areas in specific socio-economic groups
Remove Scotland.. does that help?
I wonder if drugs play a role. I have no idea if they use more or less than other countries, but since heart issues are often mentioned as the first cause of mortality in the west, doing blow everyday cannot be a good thing.
The combination of alcohol and NHS.
Successive years of conservative governments have been degrading heath services, culture and social support.
UK life expectancy is 81 years – the same as Austria, Denmark, Germany and The Netherlands. Other European countries cited in this article have a life expectancy of 82 years – such as France.
Not exactly a big deal, is it? Worth noting that prior to the Covid pandemic, UK life expectancy was also 82 years.
Journalist probably failed maths. When everything is clustered around 82, then 81 isn’t an outlier.
Also “the only other outlier is the US” Other than UK but really, it’s the UK, Denmark, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and they aren’t outliers.
The US at 76 is the only one. Poor healthcare are mentioned is mentioned, but there are many more reasons, poor food, deadlier traffic, higher infant mortality, higher murder/violence mortality, poor mobility and so on.
Balconing
Life expectancy is 76 in the US??? As someone pointed out earlier there are several reasons for that but I can never wrap my head around their aversion to universal healthcare. 76.
Weird that the article states our life expectancy is basically the same as comparable countries like Germany , yet people pile to tell us why we’re failing with a bunch of boring stereotypes like terrible food clearly to blame… etc .. really is tiring sometimes.
Barry, 63 singlehandedly pulling the statistics down