The increase in life expectancy in Europe has slowed since 2011 due to obesity, poor diet and physical inactivity, and COVID-19 has further exacerbated this trend. Experts urge strengthening public health policies to reduce major health risks such as cardiovascular disease and cancer to reverse this downward trend.
Life expectancy has fallen across Europe since 2011, with England experiencing the largest decline. In addition to COVID-19, poor eating habits, obesity and inactivity are also key factors.
A study by the University of East Anglia and collaborators found that the rate of increase in human life expectancy has slowed across Europe since 2011.
The study, published in The Lancet Public Health, points to unhealthy diet, lack of exercise and obesity as the main causes, in addition to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Of the countries analyzed, England has seen the most pronounced decline in life expectancy growth. This trend suggests that some people may now face shorter lifespans, rather than living longer than previous generations.
To combat this, researchers emphasize the importance of developing a healthy lifestyle from an early age. They also called on governments to invest in strong public health initiatives to promote long-term health.
Lead researcher Professor Nick Steel, from UEA's Norwich Medical School, said: "Advances in public health and medicine during the 20th century meant that Europeans' life expectancy increased year by year. But this is no longer the case. Decreases in deaths from cardiovascular disease and cancer from 1990 to 2011 allowed life expectancy to continue to increase significantly. But decades of steady improvement finally slowed around 2011, with clear international differences."
He continued: "We found that deaths from cardiovascular disease were the main cause of reduced life expectancy between 2011-19. Unsurprisingly, the COVID pandemic was responsible for the reduced life expectancy between 2019-21."
"After 2011, major risks such as obesity, hypertension and high cholesterol either increased or stopped improving in almost all countries. Better cholesterol and blood pressure treatments are not enough to offset the harms of obesity and poor diet," he added.
The team looked at data from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME)'s Global Burden of Disease 2021 - the largest and most comprehensive study, drawing on the work of nearly 12,000 collaborators in more than 160 countries and territories, to quantify health losses in different regions and over time.
They compared changes in life expectancy, causes of death and population exposure to risk factors across Europe from 1990-2011, 2011-19 and 2019-21.
Countries studied include Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Despite the economic downturn, we still haven't reached the upper limit of biological lifespan, the team says. Professor Steele explained: "Life expectancy among older people is still improving in many countries, suggesting that we have not yet reached the upper limit of natural lifespan. Life expectancy mainly reflects mortality at younger ages, where we have considerable scope to reduce harmful risks and prevent early death. Comparing the situation across countries, national policies to improve population health are associated with better resilience to future shocks."
He continued: "With the help of government policies, countries such as Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Denmark and Belgium have maintained high life expectancy and reduced harm from major heart disease risks after 2011. In contrast, England and the rest of the UK have maintained a higher life expectancy after 2011 and The situation is even worse during the Covid-19 pandemic, with some of the highest risks for heart disease and cancer, including poor diet, suggesting that stronger government policies are needed to reduce key health risks, including obesity, poor diet and physical inactivity, to improve population health in the long term."
Professor John Newton, from the European Center for Environment and Human Health at the University of Exeter, said: "These results are worrying, particularly in the UK, but they also offer hope. We should be worried because progress is so slow in many European countries, including the UK, but we should also be hopeful because tackling the underlying causes of major disease appears to be effective, as long as improvements in key risks can be sustained."
Sarah Price, national director of public health at NHS England, said: "This important research confirms that prevention is the cornerstone of society's health, which is why it will be an important part of our ten-year health plan in partnership with the government.
The slowdown in increases in life expectancy, particularly from cardiovascular disease and cancer, highlights the urgent need for stronger action to target root causes such as poor diet, physical inactivity and obesity.
The NHS is playing its part, having helped hundreds of thousands of people lose weight through a 12-week digital weight management program, while more than a million people a year have their blood pressure checked at NHS pharmacies, which is key to identifying cardiovascular problems and significantly improving people's overall health.
However, society as a whole needs to take more action because we cannot cure the obesity crisis and we need to curb obesity at the source."
Compiled from /ScitechDaily
DOI:10.1016/S2468-2667(25)00009-X