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Another depressing thread

(230 Posts)
Whitewavemark2 Mon 27-Apr-26 08:40:46

The U.K. has now fallen to number 20 out of 21 countries. Healthy life expectancy has fallen to 60.7 years for men and 60.9 years for women.

The decline of our health is so significant that in more than 90% of us, start suffering from serious illness before we reach pension age.

The findings help explain why 2.8 m people are too sick to work, and deaths are rising in the 25-49 age group,.

Inequalities is health are deep and widening .

We only fall above the USA in health stakes - what an embarrassment.

Health Foundation think tank.

Stansgran Tue 28-Apr-26 16:18:46

We even had to do invalid cookery in domestic science. Steamed plaice stuffed with halved peeled and plopped grapes anyone? My mother ate it when I brought it home! She thought it was wonderful.

Stansgran Tue 28-Apr-26 16:19:26

Pipped not plopped. Should reread posts.

Mojack26 Tue 28-Apr-26 16:20:54

Age 60??????! Means I have outlived that by 10 years! That seems very very low or do you mean it has gone down by 60...% on what it was? Just does not seem right.

Gwyllt Tue 28-Apr-26 16:32:48

I think the age of 60 means when people start to have serious health issues not the age of death

Plevey08 Tue 28-Apr-26 16:45:45

All I ever see in my local town is young mums glued to their phones, kids as young as 2 toddling along with Gregg's sausage rolls. Teenagers coming out of school eating McDonald's on the way home. These foods are cheap, easy to access, filling (temporarily) And they fit in with parents busy lives and budgets. It's got to be education for expectant parents about the needs of nutritious food from weaning. Society is breaking down and younger people are getting early heart disease and cancers like never before.

twaddle Tue 28-Apr-26 18:44:50

CarrieAnn

Don't you think the lack of cookery lessons in schools has exacerbated the problem?We had to cook from scratch and learn to iron!My friends daughter asked for ingredients for a cookery lesson a few years ago,list a tin of rice pudding,a tin of pears and a bottle of chocolate sauce,to make pear belle Helene,you couldn't make it up.

No, I don't think so at all.

I didn't do any cooking lessons at school and never spent any lessons ironing.

I learnt to cook by reading cookery books and, later, surfing the net. I learnt about macronutrients, vitamins, minerals and fibre in biology.

I went to a girls' school. We did do some woodwork.

twaddle Tue 28-Apr-26 18:48:20

TerriBull

I meant to add, given the title of the thread, yes it's a problem for society when people can't afford to feed themselves properly. However, I can't get depressed about other people's unhealthy habits, smoking, drinking, lack of exercise and unhealthy take away food etc., we all have enough information at our disposal to know what we should and shouldn't be doing.

So why do they still do it? Why do people still eat more of the wrong kind of food? The people who are doing it tend to be concentrated in certain groups in certain areas. Why?

StTrinians Tue 28-Apr-26 19:03:52

I was shocked and saddened to hear the health foundation findings on health inequalities. The UK has the second steepest decline after the USA. Notably, sicker younger people, complex and more co morbiditoez, including: cycles of chronic disease, kidney disease, anxiety and depression, poverty related, COPD, diabetis, "isolationalism", with social prescribing increasing. Socio economic divides between north and south, rising debt, use of food banks, all reflect changes since 2010, The Mark Review (2010) highlighted the need to gove every child equal opportunities, but we have had years of austerity. The NHS has rising pressures put on it, hence it is failing. Sad news. Covid did exacerbate this divide, which has widened...but even within the UK, England is in a sorry state. Policies need to keep up, and try to reverse these latest findings.

StTrinians Tue 28-Apr-26 19:06:16

Sorry about typos!

TerriBull Tue 28-Apr-26 19:25:07

twaddle

TerriBull

I meant to add, given the title of the thread, yes it's a problem for society when people can't afford to feed themselves properly. However, I can't get depressed about other people's unhealthy habits, smoking, drinking, lack of exercise and unhealthy take away food etc., we all have enough information at our disposal to know what we should and shouldn't be doing.

So why do they still do it? Why do people still eat more of the wrong kind of food? The people who are doing it tend to be concentrated in certain groups in certain areas. Why?

"So why do they still do it?" Wasn't there a programme once to suggest that some of these fast foods are addictive. Going to the US for the first time was a revelation, enormous people, especially in theme parks, often on mobility vehicles, they can walk, they did when they got off, they weren't actually disabled enough not to rely on their legs. The explosion of fast food and super sizing everything has a lot to answer for, portions are just enormous there, hence the doggie bag, and people do ask for those in restaurants. Where they lead we in Britain follow. I read somewhere this "are people overweight because they're disabled?, or are they disabled because they're overweight?"

Tooyoungytobeagrandma Tue 28-Apr-26 19:27:31

Personally I agree with other posters that processed/prepared foods are the issue. I stood behind a lady with a completely full trolley not one item was "fresh"food, nothing to prepare a "meal ftom scratch". She had 2 young children and it was full of ready meals including pasta dishes which are not difficult to make yourself, cake, ice creams, pop, crisps, biscuits and chocolate cereal. My husband said when we got in the car that he was very lucky I was a hood cook, make fresh healthy dinners and tried out new recipes because he'd be dead if he lived with the other lady in front of us!!! I worked full time, had 2 kids and still prepared and cooked for the family every night. Think my schooling had a lot yo fo with it plus a very strict but lovely DS teacher 😉

Plevey08 Tue 28-Apr-26 19:33:24

I agree with StTrinians, but sadly we haven't had (for a very long time) a stable government. None seem able to lead by example. The constant scandals and changes are time and cost consuming. None of them seem consistent enough for policies to become embedded and put into practice.

SueDonim Tue 28-Apr-26 19:50:47

I don’t believe the ‘too busy to cook’ excuse for one moment. All of my AC and spouses with a family work FT yet they all manage to serve up home cooked meals every day. Who can afford ready meals for a family of four, anyway?

One of my AC is a school governor, he reckons there’s a sub-section of parents who just want an easy life. All these parents talk about is the next Netflix movie they’re going to watch and their next glass of wine. Their kids are kept quiet with screens and are bought off with bribes of takeaways and sweets. He gets fed up of these infantile adults who refuse to take responsibility for themselves or their children. These aren’t people battling poverty etc, it’s a very nice area where a three bed semi costs north of half a million quid. There’s really no excuse for it.

Allira Tue 28-Apr-26 20:10:17

twaddle

CarrieAnn

Don't you think the lack of cookery lessons in schools has exacerbated the problem?We had to cook from scratch and learn to iron!My friends daughter asked for ingredients for a cookery lesson a few years ago,list a tin of rice pudding,a tin of pears and a bottle of chocolate sauce,to make pear belle Helene,you couldn't make it up.

No, I don't think so at all.

I didn't do any cooking lessons at school and never spent any lessons ironing.

I learnt to cook by reading cookery books and, later, surfing the net. I learnt about macronutrients, vitamins, minerals and fibre in biology.

I went to a girls' school. We did do some woodwork.

I agree.

I did learn to iron at home and was always tasked with ironing handkerchiefs, pillow cases and tea towels from the age of about 14 but never my father's brothers' shirts! so when I was faced with detached collars which needed to be starched when I was first married I was horrid. They went to the laundry!!

Cooking I learnt at home then from cookery books.
If you can read a recipe you can cook.

Allira Tue 28-Apr-26 20:11:09

horrid
No - not horrid. Horrified.

Norah Tue 28-Apr-26 20:11:15

SueDonim I don’t believe the ‘too busy to cook’ excuse for one moment. All of my AC and spouses with a family work FT yet they all manage to serve up home cooked meals every day.

Who can afford ready meals

I agree. Our children all manage to serve up home cooked scratch made meals daily, how could anyone possibly afford ready meals?

Allira Tue 28-Apr-26 20:13:18

Norah

SueDonim I don’t believe the ‘too busy to cook’ excuse for one moment. All of my AC and spouses with a family work FT yet they all manage to serve up home cooked meals every day.

Who can afford ready meals

I agree. Our children all manage to serve up home cooked scratch made meals daily, how could anyone possibly afford ready meals?

Well, I do believe it because not all parents are in couples, some are single mothers struggling with doing everything.

My DS is the one who cooks in their family.

Jaxjacky Tue 28-Apr-26 20:32:08

Ready meals can be much cheaper than cooking from scratch, Asda, 6 sausage rolls 99p, tin of beans 98p. It’s not healthy, or balanced, but cheaper than decent sausage meat, making pastry and cooking in the oven, rather than microwave ding.
Vegetables can be relatively expensive, fuel prices have increased and if it’s how you’ve been bought up, it’s all you know.
Most of our generation actually cook, our children learnt by osmosis or direct tuition, this doesn’t happen in all families.

Allira Tue 28-Apr-26 21:03:14

When we were very hard up I fed my DC fish fingers, peas and home made chips once a week and sometimes 😲 turkey drummers. Macaroni cheese another night.
We always had a roast dinner on Sundays and other cooked from scratch meals but fish fingers were cheaper than a whole piece of fish each and turkey burgers cheaper than, eg lamb chops.
I make no apologies. They were fed and they were happy and energetic.

twaddle Tue 28-Apr-26 21:30:08

TerriBull

twaddle

TerriBull

I meant to add, given the title of the thread, yes it's a problem for society when people can't afford to feed themselves properly. However, I can't get depressed about other people's unhealthy habits, smoking, drinking, lack of exercise and unhealthy take away food etc., we all have enough information at our disposal to know what we should and shouldn't be doing.

So why do they still do it? Why do people still eat more of the wrong kind of food? The people who are doing it tend to be concentrated in certain groups in certain areas. Why?

"So why do they still do it?" Wasn't there a programme once to suggest that some of these fast foods are addictive. Going to the US for the first time was a revelation, enormous people, especially in theme parks, often on mobility vehicles, they can walk, they did when they got off, they weren't actually disabled enough not to rely on their legs. The explosion of fast food and super sizing everything has a lot to answer for, portions are just enormous there, hence the doggie bag, and people do ask for those in restaurants. Where they lead we in Britain follow. I read somewhere this "are people overweight because they're disabled?, or are they disabled because they're overweight?"

So why is it regional? I don't think for one minute that fast food is more addictive in Middlesbrough than it is in Richmond-on-Thames.

twaddle Tue 28-Apr-26 21:41:31

SueDonim

I don’t believe the ‘too busy to cook’ excuse for one moment. All of my AC and spouses with a family work FT yet they all manage to serve up home cooked meals every day. Who can afford ready meals for a family of four, anyway?

One of my AC is a school governor, he reckons there’s a sub-section of parents who just want an easy life. All these parents talk about is the next Netflix movie they’re going to watch and their next glass of wine. Their kids are kept quiet with screens and are bought off with bribes of takeaways and sweets. He gets fed up of these infantile adults who refuse to take responsibility for themselves or their children. These aren’t people battling poverty etc, it’s a very nice area where a three bed semi costs north of half a million quid. There’s really no excuse for it.

Why is it that people in areas such as the one you are describing still manage to live healthier lives than this in more deprived areas? I doubt if living in a half a million pound semis makes them immune, but the fact is that they live longer healthy lives than those in poorer areas.

I would imagine parents are the same in all areas, so why is it that only the ones in poorer areas are affected?

We have the data. It's unequivocal. People in more affluent areas have healthier lives. Nobody seems to be addressing that.

Norah Tue 28-Apr-26 22:05:14

Jaxjacky Most of our generation actually cook, our children learnt by osmosis or direct tuition, this doesn’t happen in all families.

Apprently not.

When our AC were young we were not vegan -- cauliflower cheese, pasta cheese, scrambled eggs toast, spag bol. I still cook same for our GC.

I still prepare cheap as chips easy meals.

TiggyW Tue 28-Apr-26 22:39:57

I don’t agree with the argument about smoking and drinking - they’re nothing new! In any case, smoking has actually become a minority activity.
It would help the nation’s health if many of the unhealthy takeaways closed down. Apart from the fact that the ingredients are unhealthy, the portion sizes are ridiculous!

twaddle Tue 28-Apr-26 22:50:59

Tiggy, Smoking has become a minority activity now, but it wasn't for the people who are now turning 60+, which is what this report is about. Despite the "young people bashing", which always seems to appear on threads such as this, there is some evidence that younger people lead healthier lives than their elders. The incidence of smoking is decreasing.

This really is not just about take-aways. It's affecting people once they reach middle age and the consequences of their lifestyles then. Moreover, it's affecting various groups differently.

Whitewavemark2 Wed 29-Apr-26 07:50:28

Another interesting fact.

From 2026 it is expected that deaths in the U.K. will exceed births.

Immigrants will be needed.