Dip in improvements in life expectancy

The rise in human life expectancy has slowed down across Europe since 2011, according to research from the University of East Anglia and partners.

A new study, published today in The Lancet Public Health, reveals that the food we eat, physical inactivity and obesity are largely to blame, as well as the COVID pandemic.

Of all the countries studied, England experienced the biggest slowdown in life expectancy.

It means that rather than looking forward to living longer than our parents or grandparents, we may find that we are dying sooner.

The team says that in order to extend our old age, we need to prioritise healthier lifestyles in our younger years – with governments urged to invest in bold public health initiatives.

Lead researcher Prof Nick Steel, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said: ‘Advances in public health and medicine in the 20th Century meant that life expectancy in Europe improved year after year. But this is no longer the case.

‘From 1990 to 2011, reductions in deaths from cardiovascular diseases and cancers continued to lead to substantial improvements in life expectancy.

‘But after 2011, major risks such as obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol either increased or stopped improving in almost all countries. Better cholesterol and blood pressure treatments have not been enough to offset the harms from obesity and poor diets,’ he added.

GBD 2021 Europe Life Expectancy Collaborators. Lancet Public Health; March 2025

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(25)00009-X/fulltext