Ageing Better responds to decreasing life expectancy figures
![Younger and older person together](/sites/default/files/styles/hero_image_16by9_medium/public/media/image_hero/images/2019-06/intergen-resolution-foundaiton-3840x2160.jpg?itok=ZzgpcXO0)
The Marmot Review 2020 reveals that life expectancy has failed to increase for the first time in more than 100 years, and for the poorest 10% of women it has actually declined.
Our Chief Executive, Dr Anna Dixon, says it is shocking that people in our poorest communities are living shorter lives and longer in poor health, urging the government to take action to ensure healthier later lives for all.
Dr Anna Dixon, Chief Executive, Centre for Ageing Better, said:
“In one of the richest countries in the world, it is shocking and unacceptable that inequalities in health are widening. Today’s report makes it clear: for the poorest in our society, life is getting shorter.
“Life expectancy has steadily increased for the majority of the population over the last decade, but these gains cannot be fully celebrated if they are not shared by all. And today’s report shows that people living in more deprived areas are not only set to live shorter lives, but will spend more of those years in ill-health.
“The government’s promise of ‘levelling up’ will ring hollow without urgent and meaningful action to extend healthy life expectancies for all. This means a much stronger focus on prevention, and on the wider factors that affect our health.
“We know that today, millions are living in homes that pose a hazard to their health or safety, and some types of work can have a damaging impact on health. Our work, our homes and the communities where we live are central to living well at all ages. We must address the multiple disadvantages that impact both how long we live and whether we remain healthy into old age.”