LIVE LONG & PROSPER
The suburbs where people have the longest lives
NEW figures have revealed the Geelong region suburbs and towns where people live the longest — and the top spot, which is among the state’s best, may surprise you.
GROVEDALE residents have one of the longest life expectancies in the state, with a median age of death of 86 years.
According to new data released by the Public Health Information Development Unit (PHIDU) at Torrens University, the lifespan of regional Victorians varies by 21 years depending on the suburb in which a person lives, with pockets of Geelong boasting some of the longest median lifespans.
In regional Victoria, Grovedale had the second highest median age of death at 86, while the combined Bellarine Peninsula suburbs of Ocean Grove, Barwon Heads and Queenscliff came in third with a median age of death of 85.
Residents in Melbourne’s Ashburton topped the state with a median age of death of 89, while Yackandandah locals had the highest median in regional Victoria at 86.5 years.
The figures also detail how many potential years areas lost due to premature death. Some Geelong suburbs fared well in this category compared with the national figures, with Highton/Newtown 38 per cent below the average and Leopold 34 per cent below.
The data also revealed Victorian women live longer on average compared with their male counterparts, with the lifespan of females in regional Victorian six years longer compared to males.
Ocean Grove resident Norman Wild, who is in his early 80s, said there were plenty of ways for older people to stay active on the coast and he cycled, did weights and walked every day to stay active.
Fellow Ocean Grove resident John Dowling, a participant of the Bellarine Community Health Social Support Program, said he worked in his garden each day, as well as doing housework and going out with mates. The program provides a wide range of activities to help elderly people maintain meaningful activities.
Professor John Glover, from PHIDU, highlighted that population health areas were not all the same, with various factors influencing residents’ lifespans.
This meant there could be no one-size-fits-all approach when analysing the data.
“Variations in the median age at death between suburbs are impacted by many factors, including socio-economic disadvantage, as influenced by unemployment, education, housing and income,” Prof Glover said.
“Events like road traffic accidents among young people lower the median age, and the location of residential aged care facilities raise the median age.
“Regardless of variations between areas, I expect the data will place those areas with lower lifespans under the spotlight, and hope that social and health policymakers, agencies and providers will be informed by these data, investigate the causes and further consider the needs of people in these areas.”