The Health of the Nation

Established in 1948 by the post-war Labour government, the United Kingdom’s National Health Service, universally known as “the NHS,” has become one of the country’s most prized assets—a “sacred cow” that politicians tamper with to their hurt. Longtime Tomorrow’s World readers might recall our article in the May–June 2018 issue, “The NHS: Unfit for Service?,” in which we addressed its history and the challenges it faces. That article was written before the COVID-19 pandemic, during which a top priority of politicians was to save the NHS.

The NHS still faces significant challenges. Many Britons lament long and increasing waiting times for emergency room treatment. Since 2018, the number of people waiting more than four hours for treatment has risen from just over 10 percent to roughly 24 percent. Waiting lists have gone from 3 million people to more than 7.5 million—including those awaiting treatment for cancer. The challenges we described in our 2018 article have only grown, and it is increasingly clear that the NHS cannot cope with the health needs of UK residents. Building programmes to renew or replace antiquated hospitals to cater to the needs of the twenty-first century, administrative upgrades to implement digital record keeping, staffing needs, and bloated management structures that fail to focus on patients’ needs—all are challenges that desperately need to be met. Yet these challenges are dwarfed by the enormous difficulties caused by the poor health of British citizens.

Obesity is rampant among the young. State-funded schools have largely dropped sports and physical activities because education budgets cannot afford to fund them. Physical education, essential to young bodies and minds, has become the preserve of fee-requiring schools that most Britons cannot afford. Today, 25 percent of England’s population is considered obese, while more than half the population of Scotland is considered overweight.

More than ever, a proper understanding of healthy diet and a knowledge of what leads to good health are missing from British society. Britons on the whole resist the idea of learning good dietary habits. Many shortsightedly see government initiatives to limit sugar intake as an intrusion motivated by what they deride as a “nanny state” attitude. Moves to discourage ultra-processed foods—items that are ubiquitous in shops and supermarkets—go nowhere. Yet obesity heightens the incidence of Type 2 diabetes, which significantly adds to the strain on the NHS. Some estimates place the cost of obesity in the UK as high as £58 billion, or US$73 billion (“Nine major challenges facing health and care in England,” The Health Foundation, Health.org.uk, 3 November 2023). To put this one cost in perspective, it is about twice the capital investment shortfall of the NHS during the years 2010–2019.

Current estimates expect a 49 percent increase in UK diabetes cases between 2019 and 2040. Even today, estimates suggest that more than 5.6 million Britons are living with diabetes, according to British charity Diabetes UK. That means more than 8 percent of the population suffers from diabetes. Heart failure is the only health issue with a more significant increase expected in that period.

Adding to these woes faced by native Britons, the nation’s growing immigrant communities face great challenges in trying to adapt to a new and often very different food supply. An increase in weight and a growing incidence of diabetes amongst South Asian immigrants is attributed to these new immigrants’ difficulties adjusting to foods available in the UK.

A Loss of Focus

The overwhelmed NHS need not be an all-consuming and ever-growing monster demanding an ever-greater share of the nation’s limited resources. There is a far more straightforward solution to the problem. As noted by Henry Dimbleby, former government “food tsar” who resigned in 2023 in protest of Conservative Party health care policies, there are neglected public health strategies on which the government ought to focus. According to an article in The Times on 7 November 2024, Dimbleby noted that the current government approach to obesity is through medical intervention, including weight-loss injections—rather than convincing people to exercise and eat healthy foods. He called for bad diets to be treated like smoking is now treated on public transport and in other public places.

Is this a realistic goal? Yes, it is. Societies can change, as Dimbleby pointed out to a group of young people who were amazed that cigarette smoking was once common on the London Underground, which has been a smoke-free zone since 1985. Sadly, though, smoking hasn’t disappeared and remains a prime cause of health issues. “Smoking, poor diet, physical inactivity and harmful alcohol use are the leading risk factors of preventable ill health and mortality in the UK” (Health.org.uk). While smoking has been outlawed in various locations across the UK, it is still practised, and vaping has become a significant addiction, especially for the young.

Mental health issues are another growing cost facing employers and the NHS. Little thought seems to be given to the nation’s dramatic rise in mental health issues. One obvious factor is loneliness, often related to the rising use of social media. COVID-19 lockdowns exacerbated this problem. But another underlying cause is the lack of standards and norms within society—these are increasingly unacceptable in a world where “anything goes.” This moral drift adds stress not only in the confusion it brings, but in the demands it places on individuals to make decisions about their lives that they have not been trained to make—and while they lack a foundation on which to make them.

And while disease and neglect are causing too many to die too young, those who do live to ripe old ages—often as a result of greatly improved hygiene in recent years—face another issue that demands attention: care facilities for those suffering from age-related impairments, especially those with some form of dementia. The demand for caregivers for the elderly is increasing dramatically and putting strain on already-limited human resources.

The Missing Element

The prophet Hosea lamented that “people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). Scripture provides vital information that can inform all areas of life, yet most in the UK are following in the footsteps of their Israelite ancestors by rejecting the God of Israel and the knowledge He has given. Today’s UK is essentially a post-Christian society—God no longer has an active place in the minds of its leaders or its citizens. Like the Israelites in the time of Hosea, the people of the UK have forgotten their God.

In establishing Israel as a model nation when He brought the Israelites out of Egyptian captivity, the God of Israel gave His people instructions regarding health issues—vital principles that remain as valid today as they were when He gave them more than three millennia ago. Health and well-being of the community are central to the life God would have His people live. Principles of quarantine, cleanliness, proper diet, and proper use of sex are set out in the pages of Scripture. These are not primitive ideas of a nomadic people—rather, they are the means our Creator designed for His people to live full and happy lives. Details of these instructions are examined in our free booklet Biblical Principles of Health. Request your free copy today from the Regional Office nearest you, listed on page 4 of this magazine, or read it here at TomorrowsWorld.org.