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<figure class="align-center zoomable"> <a aria-label="Zoomable image" href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/747508/original/file-20260713-71-1ooppf.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Young man at a computer experiencing lower back pain" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/747508/original/file-20260713-71-1ooppf.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/747508/original/file-20260713-71-1ooppf.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/747508/original/file-20260713-71-1ooppf.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/747508/original/file-20260713-71-1ooppf.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/747508/original/file-20260713-71-1ooppf.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/747508/original/file-20260713-71-1ooppf.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/747508/original/file-20260713-71-1ooppf.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a> <figcaption> Lower back pain is now the leading cause of lived-with disabilities. <a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-hispanic-man-streamer-using-computer-2389531883?trackingId=66dd9459-52b7-4d99-b7a3-792180c06565&listId=highlights-suggestedSearches">Krakenimages.com</a> </figcaption> </figure>

<a href="https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/adult-psychiatric-morbidity-survey/survey-of-mental-health-and-wellbeing-england-2023-24">Mental disorders</a> are rising steadily, with common mental health conditions increasing from 17.5% in 2000 to 22.6% in 2023-24 among working age adults. The rates are higher among younger people: 26% among 16-24 year olds compared with 10% among those aged 75 and over.

There also appears to have been an increase in poor health in general. Witness the fact that <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/healthandlifeexpectancies/bulletins/healthstatelifeexpectanciesuk/between2011to2013and2022to2024">healthy life expectancy</a> in England increased modestly between 2000–02 and 2017–18 (the last period that did not include the COVID-19 pandemic), but only around half of additional years gained were spent in good health.

While mortality improvements are likely to resume, they may do so at a slower pace than in the late 20th century. The ageing population, rising obesity and worsening health among younger people all pose risks. The prolonged deterioration in US mortality linked to drug related deaths and “deaths of despair” also illustrates that you certainly can’t assume progress will continue. The UK’s future health will depend on its ability to address chronic disease, reduce risks like obesity and strengthen its ability to respond to future shocks.

<h2>Eating and drinking habits</h2>

David Dearlove, Principal Researcher, Healthy Life Mission, Nesta

Jurin Katayama, Analyst, Healthy Life Mission, Nesta

Lydia Leon, Senior Mission Manager, Healthy Life Mission, Nesta

In 2001 <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/meal-deal-price-rise-tesco-sainsburys-boots-b2812552.html">meal deals were a novelty</a>, phones had buttons, and the <a href="https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20201026074835/https://www.food.gov.uk/about-us/our-history-protecting-your-plate-since-2000">Food Standards Agency</a> (FSA) was a year-old watchdog. Twenty-five years on, Britain’s relationship with food is very different, with big changes in the types of food available and how we buy it, as well as how it is promoted and regulated.

When it comes to how people buy their food, supermarkets still <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/food-statistics-pocketbook/food-statistics-in-your-pocket">dominate</a>. The retail landscape has been disrupted by the rise of discounters like Aldi and Lidl, whose market share climbed from a <a href="https://ifs.org.uk/sites/default/files/2025-09/WP202529-The-rise-of-discounters-and-its-impact-on-concentration-market-power-and-welfare.pdf">mere 3% in 2002 to about 14% by 2021</a>. But given that large supermarkets continue to supply <a href="https://nesta.shorthandstories.com/improving-diets-to-halve-obesity-across-britain/">over 80% of our average daily calorie intake</a>, their influence over public health remains profound.

Food bought outside of the home has seen large changes. Across Great Britain, the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1353829225001935">density of fast food outlets</a> – meaning per head of the population – rose by 36% between 2011 and 2024, outpacing the 17% growth in supermarket density. This supply surge reflects shifting demand – while only a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12966-015-0210-8">quarter of UK adults ate out once a week or more</a> between 2008 and 2012, <a href="https://media.nesta.org.uk/documents/How_eating_out_contributes_to_our_diets_Nesta_Report.pdf">in 2021</a> this rose to over 60%.

Unfortunately, food prepared out of home rarely is the healthy choice. <a href="https://media.nesta.org.uk/documents/How_eating_out_contributes_to_our_diets_Nesta_Report.pdf">Most of these meals</a> exceed the recommended calorie intake for an eating occasion, and about <a href="https://www.nesta.org.uk/report/how-eating-out-contributes-to-our-diets/">20% of meals</a> contain over half the total recommended daily intake.

This physical saturation is mirrored in our digital lives, as ordering food to our door has become easier than ever. When Just Eat launched in 2001, ordering food online was a novelty. Today, platforms such as Just Eat, Deliveroo and Uber Eats connect us to thousands of takeaways at any hour, with their market worth <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1110682/uk-takeaway-delivery-market-value/">£13.9 billion (2024)</a>. Online grocery shopping has also risen, from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2001/feb/23/shopping.business">barely existing</a> in 2001 to now making up <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65820543">around 12%</a> of the grocery market.

Ever more marketing

The way food is bought and promoted has not only gone more digital, but is now dominated by <a href="https://www.nesta.org.uk/blog/changing-the-way-we-order-takeaways/">pervasive marketing and personalised nudges</a>. Outdoor food and drink advertising, covering everything from billboards to train carriages, has more than tripled in real terms over the past two decades, now accounting for <a href="https://media.nesta.org.uk/documents/Mind_the_gaps_-_full_report.pdf">£590 million in advertising-spend a year</a>. The rise of apps and loyalty schemes has also expanded the ways customers can be reached, with <a href="https://www.nesta.org.uk/blog/changing-the-way-we-order-takeaways/">regular notifications and time-limited “special” deals</a> designed to make us order more often and in larger amounts.

Of the <a href="https://www.nesta.org.uk/press-release/as-little-as-1-of-total-ad-spend-may-be-affected-by-new-uk-regulations-on-unhealthy-food-advertising-according-to-new-analysis-by-nesta/">£2.4 billion spent</a> on UK food advertising in 2024, investment in nutritious alternatives remains negligible. For instance, while advertising focusing on fruit and vegetables now accounts for <a href="https://foodfoundation.org.uk/sites/default/files/2026-06/The%20Broken%20Plate%202026_DIGITAL_0.pdf">less than 5%</a> of traditional food and non-alcoholic drink advertising budgets, unhealthy foods account for closer to a third.

There has also been a shift in the regulatory landscape. We’ve seen a gradual move away from voluntary schemes such as <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sugar-reduction">Public Health England’s</a> calorie, salt and sugar reduction programmes towards more interventionist policies, including the <a href="https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/sugar-tax">2018 Soft Drinks Industry Levy</a>, which incentivised many manufacturers to reduce sugar content to avoid charges.

Expanding on this, in 2025 the government announced the introduction of the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/healthy-food-revolution-to-tackle-obesity-epidemic">healthy food standard</a> policy. This will require large food businesses, including supermarkets, to report on the healthiness of their sales, and meet mandatory targets for improvement. Yet while the regulatory framework is improving, further intervention will be necessary to get the nation to eat more healthily.

<h2>Alcohol and drug use</h2>

Ian Hamilton, Honorary Fellow (Associate Professor) in Addiction at the University of York

Drugs, like fashion, change over time. Since the millennium, for instance, we have seen a surge in cocaine use. Once regarded as an expensive drug used by the elite, it is now more affordable than ever and more potent, which explains its greater popularity.

This has been facilitated by increased global supply and organised crime groups able to transport and distribute the drug effectively. Unfortunately, rising use has been accompanied by an equally rapid increase in cocaine fatalities, with <a href="https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/UKONS/bulletins/3f76bb0#:%7E:text=An%20opiate%2Fopioid%20was%20confirmed,in%202011%20(112%20deaths).">nearly 1,300 in 2024</a> in England and Wales alone.

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