If the rise of precautionary full-body scans, experimental anti-aging treatments and trendy supplements tells us anything, it’s that we’re obsessed with living as long as possible. And on that front, there’s good news here in the U.K.: Total life expectancy has essentially recovered to pre-pandemic levels, which were the highest on record.

But what’s the point if more of those years are spent in poor health?

Britain’s healthy life expectancy — a metric that tells us how long a baby born today can expect to enjoy good health — has taken a nosedive; it’s now at its lowest level since the government started measuring it in 2011-2013. (The stat is tracked in three-year increments — more on that later.) The current healthy life expectancy in the U.K. is 60.9 years for women and 60.7 years for men. Compared with 2019-2021, that represents a decrease of 2.5 years and 1.8 years, respectively.

© The Japan Times