Here's a great lead from a story in the Times of London:

"People in medieval times were healthier than modern Britons because they did not suffer from cholesterol related diseases, it has been claimed."

Yes well, it has also been "claimed" that Xenu was "the dictator of the "Galactic Confederacy" who, 75 million years ago, brought billions of his people to Earth in DC-8-like spacecraft, stacked them around volcanoes and killed them using hydrogen bombs. Scientology holds that their essences remained, and that they form around people in modern times, causing them spiritual harm."

L. Ron Hubbard claimed that and apparently some Scientologists believe it. (Frankly it's not too much weirder than the claims of some other more mainstream religions.)

Anyway, the Times story notes that despite being "healthier" medieval Britons lived about half as long as today's Limeys. So much for being sick when you die.

The story is all about diet and exercise.

"The research also claimed that daily exercise has decreased by at least an average of 96 per cent since Roman and medieval times from eight hours a day to less than 20 minutes due to increasingly sedentary lives."

Another way of putting this would be: Instead of slaving in the field all day doing backbreaking and life-shortening work, today's average Englishman gets to sit down while at work, eat tastier foods, and live a lot longer.