In the first three chapters of this book, we have outlined a theory of “technophysio evolution” and examined various techniques for estimating key elements of this theory, including the calculation of food supplies and the heights and weights of past generations. We have applied these insights to a range of practical problems, including the distribution of calories in Britain and France in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the relationship between food availability and physical size, and the contributions made by changes in diet and physique to economic growth. We have also emphasized the critical importance of other factors, such as the quality of the sanitary environment, in helping to explain changes in the health of western populations over the last three hundred years.

This chapter examines the history of health and mortality in Britain in the light of these ideas. Section 4.1 examines changes in the heights and weights of both adults and children in Britain over the last three hundred years, and Section 4.2 summarizes the main trends in the history of mortality. Section 4.3 presents new evidence on the availability of food in Britain and Section 4.4 explores some of the implications of these findings for the history of work intensity. Section 4.5 considers a range of other factors which have been associated with improvements in health, including the roles of sanitary intervention and medical provision.