Borough’s life expectancies still lag behind
NEWBORN baby girls in Halton are still expected in live longer than boys in the borough according to the latest figures.
The Office For National Statistics (ONS) has released figures for babies born between 2013 and 2015 across the UK.
In Halton, boys born in the period are expected to reach 77.5 years of age while girls are anticipated to have a life expectancy of 80.5 years.
The life expectancy for boys in Runcorn and Widnes is a rise compared to the previous set of figures which covered 2012 to 2014 and forecast men born in this period to reach 77.2 years of age.
Life expectancy for girls born over the previous period meanwhile shows a slight drop compared to the 2012 to 2014 figures with women predicted to reach 80.6 years.
Overall across the country, the ONS figures showed that a newborn baby boy can expect to live 79.2 years and a newborn baby girl 82.9 years if mortality rates remain the same as they were in the UK in 2013 to 2015 throughout their lives.
It means that the Halton figures are below the national averages for both genders.
The ONS figures also show that life expectancy for the UK is higher in 2013 to 2015 compared to 2009 to 2011.
However, the organisation said that the proportion of life spent in ‘good health’ is falling due to the improvement in life expectancy exceeding that of healthy life expectancy.
ONS senior health researcher Sarah Caul said: “Improvements to healthcare and living healthier lives mean that as a nation we are living longer and newborn boys and girls can expect to live for 79 and 83 years respectively.
“However, while we are living longer we are spending a smaller proportion of our overall lives in good health which puts a greater challenge on health services.” ●