Babies born in Kirklees are predicted to have a shorter healthy life when compared with those born a decade ago.
Healthy life expectancy has dropped across England and Wales while overall life expectancy has remained the same. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show a girl born between 2021 and 2023 in Kirklees is expected to have 58.9 healthy years.
This is down slightly from 59.8 years for girls born between 2020 and 2022 and below 62.7 years for girls born between 2011 and 2013.
Healthy life expectancy is the measure of how many years people are expected to live in good health. Life expectancy is how many years someone is expected to live.
Across England, healthy life expectancy for newborn girls has fallen by two years from 63.9 to 61.9 years.
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Meanwhile, the life expectancy for boys born in Kirklees has fallen by three years over the last decade to 58.7 years between 2021 and 2023. Nationally, life expectancy has remained relatively stable, which means the proportion of a person’s life predicted to be in poor health has grown significantly.
Dr Veenu Raleigh, senior fellow at the King’s Fund, said the coronavirus pandemic means the UK’s life expectancy is “pretty much bottom of the pack” when compared to the rest of Europe, particularly for female life expectancy. “That is because our health has not improved as much as in other countries,” she added.
Barnsley has the lowest healthy life expectancy in England, with just 52.6 years. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Wokingham in the South East had the highest with 70.8 years. Dr Raleigh says there is a clear North/South divide in the figures. In addition, she said tackling the issue was vital for both public health and the government’s growth plans.
She warned “deprivation, employment, environment and air pollution” are all challenges to be tackled. “I think it’s both a human imperative to reduce these inequalities, but also an economic imperative,” she said.
“We have increasing numbers of people of all ages not working due to ill health. To tackle it does need a significant increase in government strategy and investment, investing in public health, and also addressing the economic decline of some of these places.”