BOYS born in Wokingham could expect to live in good health for longer than anywhere else in the country, according to a report published this week.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) released a report on Tuesday (11) on health expectancies at birth and at age 65, using data collected from the 2011 Census.
The report found that, on average, boys and girls born in the UK between 2010 and 2012 could expect to live 78.8 years and 82.6 years respectively. If they experienced the same health status rates as observed between 2010 and 2012, boys could expect to live 63.2 years, or 80.3% of their lives, in “very good or good” health, while girls could expect to live 64.6 years, or 78.2% of their lives, in “very good or good” health.
When looking at data from across the country, the ONS found that newborn boys in Wokingham could expect to live 69.9 years, or 85.8% of their lives, in very good or good health, 6.7 years longer than the national average.
Boys in Manchester tended to have the lowest healthy life expectancy, at only 55.8 years, or 74.6% of their lives, a staggering 14.1 years less than those in Wokingham.
Girls in Richmond-upon-Thames could expect to live the longest in “very good or good” health at 70.9 years, or 82.9% of their lives, compared with girls in Tower Hamlets, who could expect only 55.9 years, or 68.4% of their lives, to be spent in good health.
Jodie Withers, health analyst at the ONS, said: “There is large variation in how many years people can expect to live in good health across the UK. Differences in education, employment opportunities, lifestyle behaviours, social mobility and the wider local environment all have a major impact with males and females in some parts of the UK living 14.1 years and 15.0 years longer in very good or good health than others.”
