London: Britons have one of the lowest life expectancies in Europe, according to a new study published in the medical magazine, The Lancet.

Researchers at Leicester University discovered that a British woman who reached the age of 50 in 2005 can expect to live for another 32.7 years – reaching 82 years and eight months – ten months less than the European average.

This figure is lower than that for France and Germany, according to the league table of 25 European Union countries.

Britain came just 16th, just above the poorer nations of eastern Europe, and Denmark.

The figures also revealed that while British men’s relative position is slightly better than women’s, they still lag behind countries such as France.

A British man who reached 50 in 2005 – the most recent year for which figures are available – can expect another 29 and a half years of life.

This is about ten months above the European average, but a month lower than France and 11 months lower than Italy.