Featured on the BBC website today is a report on the findings from a two year health survey across the whole of the UK.

Some of the key highlights from the report are a that on whole we are living longer, more than a million of us have given up smoking in the last eight years and we are less likely to suffer an early death from cancer or heart disease.

However, looking at the results of official statisticians, you can clearly see which parts of the country rank lowest in life expectancy.  The reasons behind this are unclear, but the obvious candidates are lack of exercise and poor diet.

One startling thing for me was to see that although the south is on the whole healthier and living longer compared to the north, our very own part of East Kent ranks in the bottom end for the whole country.

This could be seen as an opportunity, or it could be seen as evidence of under funding from local government in promoting health and fitness and the provision of adequate sports facilities.

I think the timing of this report coincides well with the launch of PlayLocal in East Kent.  If nothing else, I hope this encourages people to pursue a healthier lifestyle and buck the worrying trend we are seeing for this part of the country.

Read more:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6035225.stm
http://www.communityhealthprofiles.info