Almost half of surveyed people in the UK reported having a long-standing illness, according to new data released from the Office of National Statistics today.
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The majority of the UK population (57.6% of men and 51.2% of women) had a BMI of greater than 25, classifying them in the overweight, obese or morbidly obese categories; with 40.6% of men and 45.6% of women described as being healthy (normal weight). Only a small number of the UK population were underweight (1.8% of men and 3.2% of women).
A greater proportion of women (32.5%) were limited in activity levels because of a health problem compared to men (28.6%) and the five most common chronic conditions in the UK for men and women were: allergy, hypertension (high blood pressure), low back disorder, asthma and depression.
The European Health Interview Survey (EHIS) collects health data in a consistent form across European Union (EU) member states, providing the opportunity to compare health indicators with other countries.
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In terms of alcohol consumption, more men reported drinking alcohol every day (10.7%) compared with women (5.7%) and a greater proportion of women reported that they did not drink or had never drank alcohol (19.9%), compared to 13.5% of men. On average, men and women drank alcohol on three out of seven days in a week.
The majority of the UK population (81.7% of men and 84.5% of women) were non-smokers, while 14.9% of men and 13.0% of women were daily smokers. Only 3.4% of men and 2.5% of women were described as occasional smokers.
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For those who were smokers (daily or occasional), men smoked an average of 12 cigarettes a day while women smoked 11 cigarettes a day.
