Good health in England depends on where you live: study

he number of years people in England enjoy healthy lives have been put under the microscope for the first time in a report published Friday.

The study by Public Health England(PHE) shows vast differences in a healthy life expectancy in different parts of England. It is already known that overall life expectancy varies by regions, with people in some areas living shorter lives than in better off communities.

The data, published by the Office for National Statistics, reveals that wide inequalities exist not only between the most and least deprived areas of the country; but between the most and least deprived areas within English towns and cities.

"This is the first time such an analysis has been done and it will help health professionals, both nationally and within local authority areas, assess, down to very small geographies, where they need to focus their efforts." a PHE spokesman said on Friday.

The number of years an individual in England can expect to live in good health (healthy life expectancy) is around 64 years, with females enjoying good health on average just slightly longer than men.

People in southeast England had the highest number of healthy years, at 66.6 years for men and 67.6 years for females. But in northeast England, which recorded the lowest level of disease-free years, it is 60.6 years for men and 62.1 years for women.

But the difference in disease-free years for some people living in the most deprived areas of England, is almost 17 years compared to those living the healthiest lives. Cities and towns across northern England are cited as having the biggest health problems along with some areas of inner-London.

Professor John Newton, Chief Knowledge Officer at Public Health England, said: "The findings reinforce the need to address health inequality through public health and prevention as all the evidence shows that the root causes of health inequalities like these lie largely outside the health service."

Dr. Ann Marie Connolly, deputy director for Health Equity and Mental Health at PHE, said: "We know that inequalities in life expectancy emerge from inequalities in the conditions of daily life including people's incomes, living standards, educational attainment and access to services."

"These in turn can drive unhealthy behaviours like smoking, poor diet and physical inactivity. Although we've seen improvements in physical activity and smoking rates, these have not been enjoyed by all sections of society and so we continue to see these stark differences in outcomes for different communities across England." Endit