The British are less likely to live long and healthy lives than the inhabitants of most European countries – and we also trail Australia and Canada, whose people are more likely to be dancing a jig at a lively old age than we are. This is the daunting conclusion of an analysis of data from the Global Burden of Disease study of the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle, comparing the UK with 18 other comparable countries and published in the Lancet medical journal. The UK ranked 12th out of 19 countries of similar affluence in 2010.
We have the NHS and much of the rest of the world envies us for it, but how long and healthily we live is not so much about how hospitals look after us – medical care contributes only about 20% to our healthy lifespans – as how we care for ourselves before we get there. Here are 10 tips for a longer, healthier life.
