Richest areas enjoy 20 more years of good health than poorest as UK health divide deepens, study finds
Experts say the figures show the UK’s health is “going backwards”
People living in the UK’s wealthiest areas can expect up to 20 more years in good health than those in the poorest parts of the country, according to a stark new report highlighting the widening link between wealth and health.
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Analysis by the Health Foundation found the gap in healthy life expectancy - the number of years a person is likely to live in good health - has widened over the past decade.
The charity and healthcare think tank said the findings should be a “watershed moment” for ministers, warning that the nation’s health is deteriorating and that the consequences are being felt most sharply in deprived areas.
Its latest study also found that average healthy life expectancy in the UK has fallen by around two years between 2012-14 and 2022-24, despite overall life expectancy remaining broadly stable.
The findings mean that while people are not necessarily dying younger, they are spending more of their lives in poor health.
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The divide is especially severe between rich and poor areas of England.
In 2022-24, men in the least deprived areas could expect 69.2 years of good health on average, compared with just 49.8 years for men in the most deprived areas.
For women, the picture was even worse. Those in the wealthiest areas were expected to live 68.5 healthy years, while women in the poorest communities could expect only 48.2 healthy years.
The figures mean both men and women in the richest areas can now expect around 20 extra years of healthy life compared with those in the poorest areas.
The report said the health gap has widened since 2013-15, underscoring how deprivation is becoming increasingly tied to long-term health outcomes.
The Health Foundation said the widening inequality reflects a combination of pressures, including poor housing, obesity, mental ill health, deprivation and the lasting effects of the Covid pandemic.
Andrew Mooney, the think tank’s principal data analyst, said: “The UK has the highest levels of obesity in western Europe and there has been a surge in mental ill health, especially among young people.”
He added that poor health was creating “a significant economic cost”, by pushing people out of work and leaving young people cut off from education, employment and training.
The report also paints a bleak international picture for Britain.
Looking at 21 high-income countries – including those in western Europe, North America, Oceania and the Nordics – the Health Foundation found the UK had the second-lowest healthy life expectancy, behind only the United States.
While healthy life expectancy increased slightly across most comparable countries over the last decade, the UK saw one of the sharpest declines.
For men, healthy life expectancy fell from 62.9 years in 2012-14 to 60.7 years in 2022-24.
For women, it dropped from 63.7 years to 60.9 years over the same period.
The think tank said the figures show the UK’s health is “going backwards”, in contrast with countries such as Japan, Norway and Spain, where people are spending longer in good health.
Dr Layla McCay, policy director at the NHS Alliance, said the findings were a reminder of how deeply inequality shapes people’s lives.
She said: “The figures are a stark reminder of how deeply health inequalities are affecting people's lives, with too many communities in deprived areas spending more years in poor health.
“Our members have been clear that the answer has to be prevention first - tackling the wider determinants of health, strengthening community-based care and improving access to support closer to home.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson added: “It is a disgrace that as a nation we became unhealthier over the last decade which is why we are committed to tackling health inequalities and building a healthier Britain.”
They added that the government was taking action including a generational smoking ban and tougher restrictions on junk food advertising aimed at children, and said plans to build an NHS “fit for the future” would help people live well for longer “whatever their background”.