Britons unhealthiest in Europe

Bad diet has made Britain the least healthy nation of the major powers in Western Europe, a new league table published today shows. A high number of deaths from cancer and circulatory diseases in Britain put it 15th in a list of 27 countries in the world, according to the business publication Healthcare International.

Even though life expectancy figures were respectable, Britain still lagged behind Mexico and Taiwan in the list.

Bad diet was blamed for the poor rating because of the amount of fatty, processed foods eaten by Britons.

The Economist Intelligence Unit rankings took 12 factors into account including deaths from cancer, infection, heart and respiratory disease.

According to the study, Sweden was the healthiest nation in the world and South Africa and India were the least healthy.