Life Expectancy: Pensions, Health and Insurance Debate
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Lord Allan of Hallam
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Life Expectancy: Pensions, Health and Insurance
Lord Allan of Hallam Excerpts(1 year, 7 months ago)
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Lord Markham (Con)
I am aware that there has been a similar phenomenon across all the G7 western nations. Life expectancy has been plateauing for the last few years, and the only country to buck that trend is Japan. A lot of this is to do with obesity, which I know noble Lords regard as a very important issue. While we are improving issues such as alcohol intake, the impact of obesity on healthy lifestyles is an important factor that we will need to tackle.
Lord Allan of Hallam (LD)
My Lords, as well as falls in overall life expectancy, there have been significant falls in disability-free life expectancy, as shown in the recent ONS figures. Can the Minister describe the steps his department is taking to understand why more people are acquiring long-term conditions earlier in their lives, and to ensure that health and social care services are geared up to meet that extra demand?