How long can you expect to live a healthy life? See the shocking figures for the West Midlands here
Children living in the West Midlands are less likely to stay healthy in later life than in other parts of the country, a new report has shown.
Girls in parts of our region can only expect to life a healthy life until the age of around 51, according to a new report. That compares to a UK average of more than 60.
And boys are also likely to live a healthy life in some areas of little more than 50, compared to almost 61 as a national average.
There are also huge differences within the West Midlands, with more affluent rural areas offering a healthy lifespan into the 60s, while urban areas are almost 15 years shorter.
Nationally, the proportion of life that women in the UK can expect to spend in good health has shrunk by nearly three years in the past decade, while men have seen a fall of just over two years, figures suggest.
Girls born in 2022-2024 are likely to enjoy 60.9 years of good general health, according to new estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
This is down from 63.4 years in 2019-21, and from 63.7 a decade earlier in 2012-14.
Males have also seen a drop, though not quite as large, with boys born in 2022-24 likely to see 60.7 years of good health, down from 62.4 years in 2019-21 and 62.9 a decade ago.
The figures for both women and men are the lowest since healthy life expectancy was first estimated in 2011-13.
Here are the figures for the West Midlands (healthy life expectancy in 2022-24 followed by figure from 2019-21)
Females:
UK average 60.4 (63.4)
Powys 63.8 (65.7)
Worcestershire 63.1 (65.4)
Solihull 62.9 (66.5)
Warwickshire 62.9 (65.1)
Staffordshire 62.5 (63.7)
Shropshire 62.4 (66.0)
Herefordshire 61.7 (66.7)
Wrexham 60.1 (62.7)
Coventry 58.9 (61.0)
Dudley 58.9 (61.9)
Wolverhampton 58.6 (57.4)
Birmingham 58.0 (60.2)
Telford & Wrekin 55.4 (58.5)
Sandwell 51.3 (60.1)
Males:
UK average 60.7 (62.4)
Powys 64.2 (64.7)
Warwickshire 63.3 (64.4)
Worcestershire 63.3 (65.0)
Solihull 63.2 (65.6)
Shropshire 63.0 (65.3)
Staffordshire 63.0 (63.3)
Herefordshire 62.3 (65.6)
Wrexham 60.3 (62.4)
Dudley 59.6 (61.8)
Wolverhampton 59.2 (57.2)
Birmingham 58.3 (59.6)
Telford and Wrekin 56.7 (58.8)
Walsall 56.2 (60.4)
Sandwell 52.7 (59.3)
There continues to be a "clear geographical divide" in England between local areas with the highest and lowest estimates, the ONS said.
Richmond upon Thames in London had the highest healthy life expectancy for girls born in 2022-24, at 70.3 years.
This is more than 19 years longer than Hartlepool in County Durham , which had the lowest figure at 51.2 years.
For males born in 2022-24, Richmond upon Thames again had the highest figure, at 69.3 years, more than 18 years longer than Blackpool in Lancashire , which had the lowest at just 50.9 years.
The difference between the highest and lowest local healthy life expectancies in England has widened sharply in the past decade.
The gap for women has grown from 14.8 years in 2012-14 to 19.1 years in 2022-24, while for men it has increased from 14.5 years to 18.4 years.
Greg Ceely, ONS head of population life events, said: "Today's figures show that, while people in the UK are living longer than at the height of the pandemic, the proportion of their lives spent in good health is still getting smaller.
"Back in 2011, when the ONS first collected this data, men were expected to remain in good health until around the age of 63, and women 64.
"Today, they could both expect around 61 years of healthy life."
Healthy life expectancy for the whole of England in 2022-24 stood at 61.3 years for females and 60.9 years for males, the highest among the four countries of the UK.
The next highest figures were for Northern Ireland , at 60.7 years for females and 60.8 for males, followed by Scotland (59.4 years and 59.1 years respectively) and Wales (58.5 years and 59.2 years).
Dr Jamie O'Halloran, senior research fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research , said: "Today's figures show that where you live determines how many years you spend in good health - and that gap isn't closing.
"Reforming the NHS and bringing care closer to communities can help reduce health inequalities, but most of what shapes our physical and mental health lies outside the health system.
"Without tackling those root causes, we won't see the gains we need."
