Younger generations appear to be experiencing poorer health earlier in life than previous generations, according study of tens of thousands of people across the UK born since 1946. More recently born generations may spend more years living in poor health than those born earlier.
7 Comments
Younger generations appear to be experiencing poorer health earlier in life than previous generations, according to a review of studies comparing national birth cohort datasets involving tens of thousands of people across the UK born since 1946.
The trend – described by researchers as a ‘generational health drift’ – is most consistently seen for obesity and mental health, while evidence for diabetes was found in comparisons between Generation X and Baby Boomers. The authors of the review, which draws on more than 50 studies, say the findings suggest that more recently born generations may spend more years living in poor health than those born earlier.
The observed generational differences are unlikely to be explained fully by improvements in healthcare, screening, or diagnostic practices. Differences were observed for outcomes like obesity, which do not depend on diagnosis, and when using objectively measured biomarkers to identify conditions like diabetes. Comparisons of mental ill-health were based on self-reported levels of depression and anxiety symptoms rather reports of diagnoses, and the measurement tools used have been extensively tested to ensure that they provide comparable measures across cohorts.
The expert team from University College London, King’s College London and University of Oxford, examined changes in physical and mental health across the generations born after World War II. Health measures from people born in different years were compared at the point they reached similar ages.
The findings, published in the peer-reviewed journal [*Population Studies*](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00324728.2026.2652038)*,* have implications for the investment needed to care for increasing numbers living with long-term health conditions, add the authors. Health has worsened despite declines in smoking, increasing educational attainment, and improvements in material circumstances early in life.
hey, but the meat and vegetables from massive farms are cheaper, right?
sprinkle it with less movement that even 30y ago
I wonder how much of this is down to doctors’ knowledge improving over the years, or the public being more aware of their health.
i.e., is our health getting worse, or are we getting better at catching it?
Sédentarité, nourriture industrielle, produit toxique pour l’organisme.
I mean, poverty will do that. The stress, lack of funds to do things outdoors, poorer food choices. When you have no money basically everything gets worse.
The two main healths are obesity and mental health which have a lot to do with how the society has changed between the time the older generations were getting into adulthood and now. The older generation had more organic food and had more disposable income to cook food at home and eat more healthy. The younger do not. Rent and bills has taken up to 85% of the income of most young people. Thats why most of them fall easily on junk and processed foods which accelerates obesity. Also, there were lots of youth spaces where the older generation had activities when they were young which kept them active and communal. Most of these have since been dismantled or defunded and were not available for younger generations. To be active as a young person nowadays, you have to buy a gym subscription. Even university gyms are expensive for most uni students. You would say running in the park is free. But the community that would have bred the habit of outdoor exercise from a younger age is in these youth spaces that have since been defunded. Now to Mental Health, it’s similar. Young people have been shafted economically in all areas. The number one cause of mental health is lack of money. It is harder for young people to get jobs. If they do, they’re getting paid far lower than the inflation rate compared to older generations. They’re the generation who have had to pay back their university education funding taking hundreds of pounds away from their monthly income. Previous generations had free uni education in the UK. From millennials to younger generations, they’re less likely to be at a level of the wealth of their parents or grandparents while putting in more hours of work than their parent did. Their chance to get on the property ladder is far lower.
And this may be disputed but it is the older generations who have created all these conditions that have made the younger generations less healthier and happier.
It shall be interesting to check it’s relation with wealth and income inequality too.