Life expectancy in region 'stubbornly low'

Life expectancy in parts of northern Lincolnshire remains "stubbornly low", with too many residents "old before their time", according to health officials.

The claim was contained in a preamble to a health report produced by Diane Lee, director of public health for northern Lincolnshire.

Ms Lee suggested poor diet was now the biggest risk factor to preventable ill health, adding the cost of living also had an impact on the choices people were able to make.

The report was presented to North East Lincolnshire Council's health and wellbeing board on Monday.

According to  data from Public Health England (PHE) , deprived areas had five times more fast food outlets than affluent areas.

In her report, Ms Lee said: "Where we live can influence our food choices, we are surrounded by food outlets, and evidence shows that those who live in our more deprived communities have fewer options to buy healthy options."

According to data from the Office for Public Health Improvement & Disparities (OHID), North Lincolnshire had an obesity rate of 37.1%, with North East Lincolnshire at 34.7% - well above the England-wide average of 25.9%.

The report made a number of recommendations to tackle the issue, including supporting families in need with healthy food and ensuring wellbeing was at the "forefront" of any decision-making regarding future developments.

Other recommendations included ensuring families who were eligible to access free school meals were automatically enrolled and work in schools to improve oral health.

Championing walking and cycling to improve health and reduce air pollution for cars was another recommendation, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Other issues highlighted in the report included plans to tackle social isolation.

Also discussed at the meeting, was the Humber and North Yorkshire Health Care Partnership’s strategy, which includes an ambition to increase healthy life expectancy in the region by five years by 2035.

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