THE PEOPLE of Worcestershire, as recent studies have revealed, are living longer than the rest of England.
Faring better than the national average, new figures from the Office of National Statistics show that the county’s men are expected to live until 79.7 and women 83.5 years of age.
These numbers exceed the national averages of 79.4 and 83 years respectively.
In addition, the county has a healthy life expectancy (expected years of life in good health) of 65.6 years for men and 67.7 for women, again a significantly better position than the rest of the country.
However, this is not reflected nationwide. Across England, the rate at which life expectancy has been growing is gradually grinding to a standstill. Following the steady increase of life expectancy over the past 100 years, national figures are now levelling out, prompting anxiety amongst analysts.
To combat this, Health and Well-being has been marked as one of the four key priorities in ‘Shaping Worcestershire’s Future’, a corporate plan organised by Worcestershire’s County Council.
Worcestershire has put in place a number of projects to improve healthy living, alongside working with the NHS.
This includes ‘Worcestershire Works Well’, an incentive that supports businesses to improve the well-being of their employees, in-turn impacting on general morale and work ethic.
Other allegiances have been formed with ‘Your Life, Your Choice’ and the Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) to promote healthy lifestyles, with messages that also include the improvement of mental health. Such messages are trusted to better lives and effectively raise life expectancy.
Coun John Smith has the responsibility of Health and Well-Being at Worcestershire County Council.
He said “It is our priority as a council to ensure that Worcestershire residents live healthier, happier and longer lives
“We are working with partners and communities to enable residents to make responsible choices when planning their lives to achieve the best possible outcomes.”
If you are in need of further information on how you can improve your personal health, visit the NHS choices website (www.nhs.uk).
