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The big slowdown: 6 reasons why UK life expectancy growth is stalling

Life expectancy has grown massively in recent decades, but in the UK the gains are starting to ease off. Could dementia, austerity, or something else be to blame?

By Clare Wilson and Andy Coghlan

22 August 2018

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How much time do you have left? It all depends…

B&M Noskowski/Getty

THE past century saw rapid growth in life expectancy, a key measure of progress. But no longer.

UK figures released this month show that the life expectancy of people in the country, currently 79 for men and 83 for women, has started to rise more slowly. The change isn’t something to panic about – life expectancy isn’t falling, it’s just not rising as fast as it was. But it will have an impact.

“Potentially, it’s a really big societal, cultural and economic change that we are seeing,” says …

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