UK low life expectancy
Discussion
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/apr/17/wo...
UK only 25th on the list of OECD countries but also has a big difference between richest and poorest areas of the UK.
Typically for the Guardian it lambasts the government saying action should be taken without providing any analysis at all as to why the UK in general and in particular poorer areas have lower life expectancy.
If people are dying young because of poor medical provision by the NHS or local pollution then yes the government may take some blame. But what if it is mainly due to obesity, smoking, drinking, poor diet and lack of exercise? Is the government to blame for that? Moreover what more can the government do to address those issues?
In any case, without some analysis of what causes differences I don’t see how blame can be apportioned or action taken.
The scale of the difference between rich and poor areas is staggering.
The levelling up agenda suggest that the government feels some accountability for the discrepancy in affluence.
On that basis they feel some accountability for the discrepancy in life expectancy.
My personal view is that this government is a moral shambles, but if you believed they were capable of implementing levelling up, perhaps it would help.
The levelling up agenda suggest that the government feels some accountability for the discrepancy in affluence.
On that basis they feel some accountability for the discrepancy in life expectancy.
My personal view is that this government is a moral shambles, but if you believed they were capable of implementing levelling up, perhaps it would help.
Stuart70 said:
The scale of the difference between rich and poor areas is staggering.
The levelling up agenda suggest that the government feels some accountability for the discrepancy in affluence.
On that basis they feel some accountability for the discrepancy in life expectancy.
My personal view is that this government is a moral shambles, but if you believed they were capable of implementing levelling up, perhaps it would help.
Levelling up is a gimmick, we have lost our moral compass in the U.K., a chancellor who raises taxes on the poorest while he and his wife enjoy significant financial benefit from exploiting tax rules (until he’s caught), tells you everything you need to about the state of things. The article is poor, but we all know and accept that LE is linked to wealth and it’s been that way forever, this government, like most before it, will do nothing to change that. The levelling up agenda suggest that the government feels some accountability for the discrepancy in affluence.
On that basis they feel some accountability for the discrepancy in life expectancy.
My personal view is that this government is a moral shambles, but if you believed they were capable of implementing levelling up, perhaps it would help.
Mr Penguin said:
Then they compare England's poorest areas to the overall score of other countries. Did someone actually get paid to write this?
Is it a fact that some areas of the UK have lower life expectancy than others. Is the cause poverty, deprivation? Or are people uneducated, or just stupidly doing the wrong things?
What can and should be done about it ?
Pit Pony said:
Mr Penguin said:
Then they compare England's poorest areas to the overall score of other countries. Did someone actually get paid to write this?
Is it a fact that some areas of the UK have lower life expectancy than others. Is the cause poverty, deprivation? Or are people uneducated, or just stupidly doing the wrong things?
What can and should be done about it ?
I do agree that we've got a shambles in power at the moment and raising tax for the bottom half of society is a genius move when talking about levelling up.
Pit Pony said:
Is it a fact that some areas of the UK have lower life expectancy than others.
Is the cause poverty, deprivation? Or are people uneducated, or just stupidly doing the wrong things?
What can and should be done about it ?
Poorer areas have lower life expectancy than richer areas in every country, that is nothing new. My problem with the article is that it is inherently skewed to make Britain look worse than it is by taking life expectancy of groups we know do worse and comparing it to the overall average. Look at it another way: if I say that Britain's smokers are more likely to get lung cancer than the overall rate of Germans, do you have any new information about the world?Is the cause poverty, deprivation? Or are people uneducated, or just stupidly doing the wrong things?
What can and should be done about it ?
As for why it might be lower: smoking and obesity rates are higher among poorer people, that probably has an impact on life expectancy.
Mr Penguin said:
Poorer areas have lower life expectancy than richer areas in every country, that is nothing new. My problem with the article is that it is inherently skewed to make Britain look worse than it is by taking life expectancy of groups we know do worse and comparing it to the overall average. Look at it another way: if I say that Britain's smokers are more likely to get lung cancer than the overall rate of Germans, do you have any new information about the world?
As for why it might be lower: smoking and obesity rates are higher among poorer people, that probably has an impact on life expectancy.
The rich in Japan must be quite remarkable if the disparity between rich and poor is similar to the UK experience?As for why it might be lower: smoking and obesity rates are higher among poorer people, that probably has an impact on life expectancy.
Stuart70 said:
The rich in Japan must be quite remarkable if the disparity between rich and poor is similar to the UK experience?
It isn't as simple as rich vs poor as Japan highlights. There many elderly are fit and active enough to keep working long past the retirement age. Probably more common in those from poorer backgrounds as well In Japan as you often hear of working women in rural areas in their seventies etc.The biggest issues for life expectancy in a rich country such as ours are highly likely to be diet, exercise and smoking. There may develop a growing gap between private and NHS, particularly for early screening of diseases given issues with the GP service in recent years, but those three don't actually necessarily depend on income, and in fact it costs money to smoke and have a takeaway over a home cooked meal.
What can the government do?. Beyond educational campaigns, probably mainly things like access to green spaces and school sports. It can guide but not compel. Early detection and intervention in the state healthcare system also needs a great deal of work as well.
There will always be a different as poor people will have less comforts in life, less access to quality food and healthcare.
Saying this this applies to all other countries as well. The gap widens more because the U.K. mentality of not cooking healthy meals and poor lifestyle choices. Blaming just the income does not give the full picture.
Saying this this applies to all other countries as well. The gap widens more because the U.K. mentality of not cooking healthy meals and poor lifestyle choices. Blaming just the income does not give the full picture.
ChocolateFrog said:
Such a crap article.
Why don't they put the best and worst stats from all the countries?
Then they have the cheek to ask you for money.
The article is clear in what it compares each time it quotes stats.Why don't they put the best and worst stats from all the countries?
Then they have the cheek to ask you for money.
It points out that the LE of the 10% 'richest' is higher than the overall LE in any OECD country but Japan, but also points out, I think the hook of the article, that those in the most deprived area have a lower life expectancy than the average, that's an important point, LE of women in countries 'such as' Columbia, Latvia and Hungary. The only one that has a worse LE is Mexico.
It's a good point, and supports the article's contention that action is needed to raise the LE of women in the UK.
If you don't read with care, you'll miss the nuance.
Also, you accessed their webpage and read, or possibly skimmed, something they published. Don't they have the right to ask for your support to continue their free publication? No one's forcing you to contribute.
JagLover said:
There may develop a growing gap between private and NHS, particularly for early screening of diseases given issues with the GP service in recent years.
Early detection and intervention in the state healthcare system also needs a great deal of work as well.
Snipped your post for the above. Exactly this. The NHS is awful and needs a full enquiry and restructure.Early detection and intervention in the state healthcare system also needs a great deal of work as well.
Long work hours, long commutes, less green spaces, over loaded/inefficient NHS and overcrowdingthese things are common in the UK and can't be helped by the individual. Poor diet, smoking and not walking to shops etc when you could can be helped.
From my personal perspective I seem spend more and more of my free time jumping through various hoops in life and my motivation to exercise has diminished even though I was really hig into cycling recently. I don't know if others feel the same but the last few years the UK seems an especially depressing place which never goes well for good physical health.
From my personal perspective I seem spend more and more of my free time jumping through various hoops in life and my motivation to exercise has diminished even though I was really hig into cycling recently. I don't know if others feel the same but the last few years the UK seems an especially depressing place which never goes well for good physical health.
Edited by Greenbot35 on Monday 18th April 09:12
Greenbot35 said:
Long work hours, long commutes, less green spaces and overcrowding these things are common in the UK and can't be helped by the individual. Poor diet, smoking and not walking to shops etc when you could can be helped.
From my personal perspective I seem spend more and more of my free time jumping through various hoops in life and my motivation to exercise has diminished even though I was really hig into cycling recently.
Whilst I’m against long working hours and long commutes I don’t think they are the issue. Japan and South Korea have far more issues with those. I also don’t think overcrowding is a major problem for the same reasons.From my personal perspective I seem spend more and more of my free time jumping through various hoops in life and my motivation to exercise has diminished even though I was really hig into cycling recently.
For me it’s more to do with lack of community and family, which drives a sedentary lifestyle and poor diet. Of all you do with your spare time is sit in front of the TV it will have all sorts of impacts. The cause of this is people having
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