05 May 2006
Rising rates of middle-age obesity, diabetes and cancers are often portrayed as a huge drain on the NHS, but a study out this week shows that the 50-something English are healthier than their US counterparts.
A collaborative study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, University College London and the US-based Rand Corporation, published on May 2, shows that rates of diabetes, high blood pressure and lung cancers are almost twice as high in the US.
But middle-aged English people are less likely to report a 'wide array' of diseases.
Report author Professor James Smith said: 'You don't expect the health of middle-aged people in these two countries to be too different, but we found that the English were a lot healthier.'
Heart disease is 50% higher among Americans aged 54–65 than their English peers, while prevalence of diabetes is twice as high.
Lower socio-economic groups are more likely to report illnesses in both countries, but those at the top of the income ladder in the US report illnesses similar to those at the bottom in England.
PFmay2006
