The office for National Statistics recently produced Social Trends 40, an account marking 40 years of social reporting in the UK. The report contains five previously unpublished chapters of statistics and analysis including health. Editor, Matthew Hughes commented, “The UK and the world are very different places now compared to 40 years ago”. This is apparent in the changing health of the nation:

• Life expectancy at birth in the UK has risen more than 30% since 1901.
• In 2008 21% of males and 14% of females aged 16+ drank more than double the recommended daily allowance at least once a week.
• The proportion of adults in England classified as obese rose from 16% to 25% between 1994 and 2006.

The full report can be downloaded at www.statistics.gov.uk/socialtrends.