Healthy Life

The health disparities white paper disappearing shows a dangerous pattern for action on health

21/08/2025Yosep

Once is a mistake, twice is a coincidence and three times is a pattern. This saying came to mind on hearing that the long-awaited health disparities white paper is no longer going to be published. While this is not a surprise, it is nevertheless a decision that is deeply disappointed. Particularly when we know that good health remains out of reach for far too many people in the UK, that deep inequalities in health between the poorest and wealthiest are widening, and that failing to address poor health and economic inactivity will slow the nation’s economic recovery desperately needs.

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The ‘good health’ gap: what will it take to reduce health inequalities?

20/08/2025Yosep

Of course, recent years are not necessarily predictive of the future. The 2000s saw healthy life expectancy improving at a rate that, if returned to and sustained to 2035, would put the government on track to more than meet their target of a 5-year boost to healthy life expectancy.

Clearly there is significant uncertainty as to what future trends in healthy life expectancy may be. But we shouldn’t overlook the sharp shift in the pattern in healthy life expectancy improvements since the turn of the decade, something that demands closer attention and examination.

Reducing inequalities in healthy life expectations

Rightly,

Want a healthy brain as you age? Live a healthy life

19/08/2025Yosep

Featured News

April 17, 2017

Alzheimer's medical illustration of amyloid plaques ROCHESTER, Minn. — Adopting a healthy lifestyle can protect the brain against several risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease, Mayo Clinic research shows. Controlling blood pressure and cholesterol and avoiding obesity, smoking and diabetes are among the steps that can help preserve brain health, according to the study, published in JAMA Neurology.

Neurologists believe two aspects make up Alzheimer’s disease:

Amyloid deposits: Toxic proteins that build up plaques on the brain.
Neurodegeneration: Loss of structure and function of neurons in the brain.

The Mayo research examined whether the risk factors and protective steps against each

Quantifying health inequalities in England

18/08/2025Yosep

In Figure 3, we show the contribution of each condition to health disparities by age group. Absolute levels of inequality are very small for younger people, but this analysis shows that there is a clear transition of inequality across the life cycle. Children in more deprived areas are much more likely to be living with asthma, epilepsy and to experience alcohol problems and are less likely to be diagnosed with anxiety or depression. From the age of 20 we see greater differences in chronic pain, alcohol problems and anxiety and depression. From the age of 30 we begin to see

What makes a healthy place? Some answers from the public

17/08/2025Yosep

Once a week or so, I go for a run towards the river. Maintained by my local authority, the riverside has benches, toilets, a level path that provides access for wheelchairs and buggies, and a segregated bike lane. It is a lovely place to be on a weekend morning, with all walks of life enjoying the outdoors.

This stretch of river came to my mind as I was hearing answers to the question, ‘What makes a place a healthy place?’. The Health Foundation, through the research agency Public First, recently asked six groups of people from the Midlands and the