Title: Britain's poor diet more deadly than its smoking habit as alcohol related deaths soar
Headings: Britain's poor diet more deadly than its smoking habit as alcohol related deaths soar
Britain's poor diet more deadly than its smoking habit as alcohol related deaths soar
Content: Britain's poor diet more deadly than its smoking habit as alcohol related deaths soar
Britain's poor diet more deadly than its smoking habit as alcohol related deaths soar
Why the nation's love of crisps, take-away meals and sweets is doing us more harm than tobacco
By Laura Donnelly and Lauradonnelly 15 September 2015 • 12:01am
Britons need to cut down on junk food diets, couch potato lifestyles, cigarettes and booze, according to the study Credit: Photo: Alamy Stock Photo
Britain's junk food diet has become the leading cause of death and ill-health, ahead of smoking, according to a study published in The Lancet. The research shows that 40 per cent of NHS resources are spent dealing with ills caused by potentially preventable lifestyle factors such as unhealthy eating habits, obesity, alcohol and smoking. Diet is now the number one factor driving poor health, even ahead of smoking, the study by Public Health England (PHE) found – causing 10.8 per cent of illness in the UK compared with 10.7 per cent caused by smoking. The number of deaths from alcohol-related disease has soared. The figures for England, which track the impact of disease since 1990, show a 57 per cent rise in liver cancer deaths and a 42 per cent increase in deaths from cirrhosis. "Cutting down on junk food diets, couch potato lifestyles, cigarettes and booze could make Britain one of the healthiest places to live in the world"
Simon Stevens, the head of the NHS
Overall, researchers found that life expectancy rose by 6.4 years between 1990 and 2013, increasing from 75.9 to 81.3 years. But, over the same period, the burden of disability – the total amount of time spent living in ill-health – barely changed, as chronic diseases have taken grip. While death rates from diabetes fell by 56 per cent, the number of years lost to disability and illness linked to the condition rose by 75 per cent over the same period, the analysis shows.