In it for the long run

We are all getting older - and the statistics for the UK population as a whole prove it. Most recent Office of National Statistics figures show around 16% of the population is now over 65 compared with 13% in 1971. Even the old are getting older - around 12% of the over-65s now are aged 85-plus compared with just 7% in 19711. However much we might wish otherwise, it is not the case that an ageing population is necessarily going to be a healthier population. Government statistics show that the proportion of older people with a long-term illness or disability that restricts their daily acti...