Professor Grant McIntyre, Dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery and Vice President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd), responds to the publication of a new report by the Health Foundation comparing healthy life expectancy in 21 countries:
"The report shows that the UK is the most obese country in western Europe, mental ill health has surged to unprecedented levels and more people than ever before are living with chronic health conditions."
"Moreover, as healthy life expectancy for men in the UK has fallen from 62.9 years in the 2012-14 period to 60.7 years in 2022-24 and from 63.7 to 60.9 years for women over the same timeframe, the UK population’s health is getting worse, Indeed, healthy life expectancy having now fallen below the state pension age of 66 years in more than 90% of areas and in more than 1 in 10 local areas, healthy life expectancy is below 55 years."
"We agree with the Health Foundation that this deterioration is not inevitable. Whilst the Tobacco and Vapes Bill and measures to further curb the advertising of junk food to children, a renewed and sustained emphasis on tackling the root causes of poor health and our deep health inequalities is clearly needed.”