The United Kingdom Suffers as a Result of Poor National Health

The UK's National Security Risk Assessment output classes the state of the UK public health as a Tier 1 national risk, the most potent of the three categories₁. It's a well-known and high-profile issue; half of all science stories in the UK media are medical₂ although many of the claims made are dubious₂.The UK does relatively well in encouraging good health, compared to many other countries. The UK comes in the best 20 in its food aid and health contributions and WHO compliance₃. It does better than average in its average life expectancy₄, its suicide rate₅, its adolescent birth rate₆ (but bad for Europe), its fertility rate₇ (but bad for Europe) and in its immunizations take-up₈. But, things still need to improve in The UK. The UK does worse than average in its smoking rate₉ (yet still amongst the lowest in Europe) and in its alcohol consumption rate₁₀. The prevalence of overweight adults has increased by 14% over the past 40 years.

1. UK's Health
2. Health Data Sets
   1. Life Expectancy
   2. Alcohol Consumption
   3. Fertility Rate
   4. Smoking Rates
   5. Suicide Rate
   6. Food Aid, Health Contributions & WHO Compliance
   7. Overweight Adults
3. Children's Health Data Sets
   1. Adolescent Birth Rate
   2. Infant Immunizations 2011-2015
4. Links

1. UK's Health

#health

The countries with the best overall approach to public health, in terms of both public policy and individual lifestyle choices, are Monaco, Hong Kong and The Maldives₁₂. These countries are worth emulating. And, although often through no fault of the average citizen, the worst countries are The Marshall Islands, S. Sudan and Palau₁₂.

The data sets used to calculate points for each country are its average life expectancy, its alcohol consumption rate, its fertility rate, its smoking rate, its suicide rate, its food aid and health contributions and WHO compliance, the prevalence of overweight adults, its adolescent birth rate and its immunizations take-up. The regions with the best average results per country are Scandinavia, Asia and The Mediterranean₁₂, whereas the worst are Micronesia, Australasia and Africa₁₂.

For more, see:

• "Countries With the Healthiest Cultures and Health Policies" by Vexen Crabtree (2020).

2. Health Data Sets

2.1. Life Expectancy

#1990s #2000s #2010s #demographics #health #hong_kong #immigration #japan #life_expectancy #longevity #population

Increasing longevity, and subsequent aging, is a long-term trend around the world₁₃. Global life expectancy has risen above the 70s, reaching 72, by 2016₁₄, as part of a global trend towards better health_14,15, and due to huge portions of the world being gradually lifted out of poverty. It also reflects overall improvements to cultural health, including diet, health services systems, attitudes to exercise and well-being, and also family structure and caring. For decades, Japan was well-known for having the highest average life expectancy₁₆, until the top spot was taken by Hong Kong. The regions with the best life expectancy are Europe (78.4), The Middle East (75.2) and Asia (73.2)₄ and the worst, by some way, is Africa (62.8)₄.

One effect of rising longevity is the 'demographics crisis'; where an increasing portion of the population is old and retired, putting pressure on services and taxes₁₇. The solution is for aging countries to import younger workers from elsewhere; over time, as birth rates stabilize, geriatric care improves the length of the working life, and population growth calms, this situation will stabilize.

For more, see:

• "Life Expectancy and Longevity" by Vexen Crabtree (2020).

2.2. Alcohol Consumption

#alcohol #health #sociology

There is nothing wrong with drinking modest and sensible amounts of alcohol but fitness, physical health, mental health and long-term health all suffer as a result of medium- or heavy- drinking₁₈ and the health risks to the baby when pregnant mothers drink₁₉ are well-known. Aside from the effects on the individual, alcohol misuse impacts on entire economies₂₀ via increased health service costs, policing costs and lost days' work. Worldwide, alcohol misuse is "among the top five risk factors for disease, disability and death" and is a "cause of more than 200 disease and injury conditions in individuals, most notably alcohol dependence, liver cirrhosis, cancers and injuries"₂₁. "In 2012... 5.9% of all global deaths, were attributable to alcohol consumption"₂₂. Deaths from chronic alcohol misuse have been rising for decades, and so has violence, abuse, vandalism and crime all associated with alcohol over-use. The aggression and crime associated with alcohol in some Western countries infringes on the human rights of those who want nothing to do with such behaviour. Many of the social effects of alcohol are psychological and cultural; i.e., people don't have to behave criminally or destructively whilst drunk - it is a culturally learned behaviour. Experiments have shown that behaviour can be controlled: Those who do not wish to behave badly whilst drunk, will not do so.

For more, see:

• "Alcohol: The Social & Medical Effects and How to Combat Misuse" by Vexen Crabtree (2015).

The UK has seen a 50-year growth in alcohol consumption and it has become a public-health crisis₂₃. In 2007-8 it directly cost the NHS £3 billion₂₃, and overall the national cost is up to £55 billion a year_23,24. Across 2007-8, the UK had up to 40,000 alcohol-related deaths, including 350 from acute alcohol poisoning and 8,000 from cirrhosis of the liver₂₃. Consumption has doubled since the late 1950s, whilst in other developed countries such as France and Italy, it has more than halved₂₅; liver disease rates are falling in the EU, but the UK's rises₂₆. The price of alcohol is half what it was in the 1970s₂₅. Between 1995 and 2001, binge drinking increased by 35% in the UK₂₅ . The increase in drinking "is reflected in rising death rates from chronic liver disease, the primary cause of which is too much drink", and the UK has some of Europe's worst rates of childhood drunkenness and several thousands of babies are born each year with foetal alcohol syndrome₂₃, which has lifelong effects.

2.3. Fertility Rate

#birth_control #demographics #health #overpopulation

The fertility rate is, in simple terms, the average amount of children that each woman has. The higher the figure, the quicker the population is growing, although, to calculate the rate you also need to take into account morbidity, i.e., the rate at which people die. If people live healthy and long lives and morbidity is low, then, 2.0 approximates to the replacement rate, which would keep the population stable. If all countries had such a fertility rate, population growth would end. The actual replacement rate in most developed countries is around 2.1.

For more, see:

• "The Population of the Earth" by Vexen Crabtree (2019).

2.4. Smoking Rates

#cancer #democracy #health #smoking

Smoking is the UK's biggest cause of preventable death and 100,000 people die from related diseases every year₂₇. The health of the nation affects everyone in the long-run₂₈ - although in 2016/17 tax on cigarettes earned the government £7.6 billion₂₉, in 2010 statistics showed the total cost to the economy of smoking (including NHS costs) was £13.7 billion₃₀. 474,000 hospital admissions every year in England are directly due to smoking₂₉.

But things are moving in the right direction. Since the 1970s, the government has enacted a stream of laws to improve public health: strong restrictions on advertising cigarettes, enforced health warnings on packs, increased costs, banned sports sponsorships and banned smoking in public enclosed spaces._29,31,32. Each of those measures was fought through long legal and PR campaigns by the tobacco industry_31,32. But it is working, and smoking rates in Great Britain have declined from 50% in 1974 to 16% in 2016, and the spectre of childhood smoking has declined to 3%._29,33

Cigarettes are the most lethal consumer product on the planet and is the biggest preventable course of disease in the world₃₁. A billion people smoke₃₄. The fight for public health means limiting and reducing the business of the tobacco industry and as the governments of most developed countries make headway, the tobacco industry has resisted with misinformation, public-relations campaigns and fake customer-concern lobby groups, trying to make the government think that the citizens do not support its actions. With £30 billion pounds (UKP) profit per year₃₁, the industry runs such massive and influential lobbies that most governments find it difficult to make any progress in curbing rates of smoking.

If you smoke, you are more likely to drink. If you smoke or drink, you are also more likely to do drugs. Smoking is statistically intertwined deeply with trash culture. Only 15% of men in the highest professional classes smoke, but 42% of unskilled workers do₃₅. Smoking is higher amongst those who are already in trouble: single mothers smoke at 55%, most homeless do and practically 100% of drug addicts do₃₅. Smoking during late pregnancy reduces the IQ of babies by an average of 6.2 points₃₆ and causes increased antisocial behaviour. Aside from the financial cost to taxpayers and the health costs to individuals, indirect negative economic effects result from increased rates of disease and sick days lost from work.

For more, see:

• "The Side Effects of Smoking. Which Countries Smoke Most?" by Vexen Crabtree (2014).

2.5. Suicide Rate

#belgium #finland #health #japan #mental_health #suicide #switzerland

Suicide as a human behaviour is recorded in the texts of the most ancient civilisations. But reliable statistics on it are hard to collect. The World Health Organisation publishes the statistics used by the United Nations, which is duplicated in the long table on the right.

Almost universally, successful male suicide rates are much higher than female rates. However, female suicide attempts are more frequent than male attempts.

Countries with high suicide rates are a mixture between those riddled with organized criminal gangs, under-developed countries, and, highly developed countries. There are cultural and situational effects at work that persist in the long-term: nothing seems to lower the high suicide rates in Japan, Belgium and Finland. And some of the countries with the lowest rates are not particularly well developed socially. It seems there is no correlation between suicide rates and things like development, prosperity and national engagement in human rights.

Switzerland comes in as the country with the 17th highest suicide rate despite its liberal stance, with 36.2 suicides per 100,000 people.

For more, see:

• "Accepting Assisted Suicide: A Focus on UK Law" by Vexen Crabtree (2012).

2.6. Food Aid, Health Contributions & WHO Compliance

2.7. Overweight Adults

#genetics #health #obesity #public_health #UK

Over 2 in 3 adults in the UK are overweight₃₉. It has widespread knock-on effects for the rest of the UK, resulting in lost-hours of work, developed disabilities and social care costs. A UK government Commons Health Select Committee report in late 2015 stated that obesity costs the UK economy £27 billion every year₄₀ and the total costs to Britain were widely reported in 2014 to be £47 billion_38,41 - more than war, violence and terrorism combined_38,41. It costs the National Health Service £5.1 billion per year₄₂. Childhood obesity presents the greatest long-term risk (and cost) and parents must do more to instigate sensible eating practices₄₃. In early 2016, the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said that UK rates of childhood obesity constituted a national emergency₄₄.

Source: BBC (2007)₄₅

The issue has been a long-term development; the chart shows rates rising between 1996-2005 in England.

The UK compares poorly to Europe, how about to the rest of the world?

About one third of the global population is overweight or obese₃₈. Most Western countries are facing an obesity epidemic. Our cultures are having to change to compensate for widespread ill-health. It is costing our health systems a massive amount of money, and is having negative effects on national economies. The situation has persisted for a suitable length of time for our very perceptions to change; opinions on "normal weights" for people and "average sizes" for clothes has shot up₃₉. Over 2 in 3 adults in the UK are overweight₃₉ and this costs the NHS £5.1 billion per year₄₂ and "costs Britain's economy £47bn a year; more than war, terrorism or armed violence"₄₆. We are forgetting how to be healthy.

The causes are not genetic. Most people who say obesity "runs in their family" are wrong. The rate of increase in obesity is many, many times too fast to be accounted for by a change in inherited genes₄₇. Our culture and lifestyle choices are to blame. The causes of the modern obesity epidemic are processed foods, low levels of physical exercise, over-indulgence, poor choices in food products, poor knowledge of nutrition. Most of this is made much worse by well-funded advertising campaigns by food manufacturers selling cheaper mass-produced food. Even some so-called "health foods" contain well over recommended limits of fat, salt and sugar₄₈.

3. Children's Health Data Sets

3.1. Adolescent Birth Rate

#health #parenting #population

3.2. Infant Immunizations 2011-2015

#health #vaccines