By 2050, the average person could gain nine years of healthy life and the global economy could be boosted by US$12.5 trillion (€11.5 trillion, £9.9 trillion) if society scales access to proven health interventions, according to the McKinsey Health Institute.

In its latest report, The health of nations: stronger health, stronger economies, the authors discuss how GDP per capita growth will be dampened if the trend for more older individuals, fewer working-age people and therefore fewer total hours worked is allowed to continue.

The wellness industry is embracing longevity advancements but opportunities to increase healthspan remain untapped. The latest research signals the potential for cross-sector collaboration to achieve accessible wellbeing.

The healthspan trend

By 2050, individuals are expected to live to 78 years on average. This is an 11-year increase over the average lifespan in the previous 50 years, but people are also spending more of those years in poor health. 

In 2000, the average time lived with illness was 8.7 years and in 2025 it was 10.2 years. By 2050, it is projected to reach 11.4 years.

Older populations, a rising prevalence of noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and mental health conditions suggests more people will be managing chronic illnesses for longer.

Most countries are also spending less than two per cent of their health budgets on prevention. Fiscal pressures, siloed systems and institutional inertia are described by the report authors as reasons for the lack of change to healthcare approaches.

What can be done?

The researchers say this negative trajectory is not inevitable. Scaling access to timely, proven, cost-effective health interventions could prevent 33 million premature deaths and more than 461 million years spent in poor health.

The projected US$12.5 trillion boost to the annual economy by 2050 – if interventions are scaled now – is equivalent to around seven per cent of global GDP, with an estimated fourfold return on investment. 

To achieve this, the McKinsey team say three things could help:

1.Funders need to align incentives to reward long-term investment in prevention

Based on data from institutions such as the World Health Organization, prevention is one of the highest-return investments a health system can make. The organisation recently updated its stance on using GLP-1s to treat obesity, saying physical activity is still critical in the treatment of the disease.

Scaling access to affordable blood pressure treatment, for example, could avert millions of premature deaths over 25 years. This would cost less than US$5 (€4.60, £3.95) per person per year.

Governments can also offer incentives such as subsidies or adaptations to regulatory frameworks for innovations that promote health, whether for nutritional or digital wellness solutions.

2. Private and public stakeholders beyond healthcare can play a part in propelling progress in health

The report authors highlight that when countries’ health investments are integrated with investments in wider societal areas they achieve stronger and more sustainable economic growth.

School meal programmes improve attendance and learning outcomes, while safe water and sanitation reduce disease.

Cross-sector collaboration is required and health impact assessments could be embedded into national development planning to ensure major policies contribute positively to population wellbeing.

3. Health systems can pair investment with better cost management

Governments and other stakeholders can work together to expand access, propel innovation and strengthen equity. The authors suggest building on AI and digital infrastructure advances to enhance implementation pathways and enable smarter real-time resource allocation.

The aim, according to the researchers, is to invest in the interventions with the highest returns.

Read more about different approaches countries around the world are adopting in the McKinsey report, here.