As reported by The Times, the study, which was undertaken on 300,000 Brits aged 35 and over, found that those in “middle aged are so unhealthy that as they get older, two thirds of over-65s are forecast to have at least two conditions such as cancer, dementia or arthritis, up from half today.”
Claiming arthritis and cancer will see the greatest rise in prevalence (at 14% and 15.1% respectively), experts behind the study also said that they expect to see “increases of more than 50% in the number of older people affected by most individual diseases” between 2015 and 2035.
Carol Jagger, professor of epidemiology of ageing at Newcastle University and who studied the data, said: “It is primarily the lifestyle factors that are driving these diseases. Obesity and physical activity are the main ones. We are much more sedentary than we were before.”