DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
News Release issued by COI News Distribution Service. 27 January 2009
We're living
longer, but many challenges remain
The third national Health Profile of England is published today
and demonstrates improvements in critical areas of the
nation's health. Death rates from cancer, heart disease and
suicides continue to decline, whilst life expectancy is higher
than ever and infant mortality at its lowest.
Key findings of the report show encouraging trends:
* declining mortality rates in targeted killers (cancers, all
circulatory diseases and suicides); and
* increasing life expectancy, now at its highest ever level; and
* reducing infant mortality, now at its lowest ever level; and
* declining numbers of people who smoke; and
* increases in physical activity levels and fruit and vegetable consumption.
However, other trends highlight areas for improvement:
* increasing levels of obesity in adults and children; and
* geographical inequalities across the country, with a clear
north/south divide.
International comparisons show:
* Premature mortality rates from cancer for males have fallen
substantially faster over the last 30 years than the EU-15 average
and are now among the lowest in the EU-15; however
* the prevalence of obesity in England is the highest in the
EU-15 countries, and one of the highest in the wider cohort of
OECD countries
The Office for National Statistics also published figures today
indicating that the trend in alcohol-related deaths is now
levelling out, showing that there were 8,724 alcohol-related
deaths in 2007, lower than in 2006.
Public Health Minister, Dawn Primarolo, said:
"Seeing the nation's health and life expectancy improve
is extremely encouraging. Sustained investment in targeted
prevention and treatment have paid off. However, we have so much
more to do and can't ever assume our work is done.
"The obesity epidemic in this country is an urgent priority.
The Change4Life revolution is now well under way, motivating
everyone to eat well, move more, and live longer. I urge anyone
who sees themselves in today's figures to sign up to receive
advice, tips, and support from nhs.uk/change4life or call 0300 123 4567.
"We are committed to reducing health inequalities, and have
put in place the most comprehensive programme ever in this country
to address them. Sir Michael Marmot is currently exploring future
policy and action on reducing health inequalities in England."
Notes to editors
1. The Health Profile of England 2008 provides a collection of
national and regional data to be used as a benchmark against which
local areas can compare their own Health Profile data. A PDF can
be downloaded here: http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsStatistics/DH_093465
2. Data are the most recent available at the end of November
2008, except for the table of Regional data which were published
in the June 2008 Local Health Profile reports. The Health Profile
of England should not be looked at in isolation. It is part of a
wider family of products, which taken together will facilitate
access to key information about health and health determinants
nationally and locally. The family of health profile products comprises:
* the Health Profile of England (this document)
* 386 Local Health Profiles (of Local Authority Areas)
* 10 SHA Health Profiles (with Regional breakdown) and
* an associated web-site and web-based tool
3. The Local Health Profile reports have been produced by the
Association of Public Health Observatories. The above local health
profiles can be viewed here: http://www.apho.org.uk/default.aspx?QN=P_HEALTH_PROFILES
http://www.apho.org.uk/default.aspx?QN=HP_INTERACTIVE
4.For all enquiries, please call the customer service centre on
020 7210 4850.