5 of the unhealthiest areas in the UK ranked and how to improve your health

A new study by fitness experts BarBend looked at the unhealthiest areas in the UK in conjunction with a recent release from the Office for National Statistics.

The analysis was based on physical health, mental health and fitness, finding which area is the “most unhealthy”.

Could you be living in the unhealthiest area and how can you improve your health today? Here we take a closer look.

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In order to get the results, each area’s health score was measured out of 100, with 100 being the level of the national average.

Which is the most unhealthy area in the UK?

The study found that Blackpool is England’s unhealthiest area, scoring a 87.82 healthy people score.

This included an 88.24 healthy lives score, and a 98.24 health places score which combined gives an overall health score of 91.43.

Unfortunately for the area, their low healthy people comes alongside a low life expectancy score of 75.72 including a low avoidable mortality score of 72.38.

The area’s low healthy lives score comes from poor scores like 80.24 for alcohol misuse and a poor score of 83.58 for healthy eating.

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Claiming the second spot, Manchester came in with an overall score of 92.53.

The healthy people score is low due to things like a low life expectancy score of 79.86 and low avoidable mortality with 74.54.

A score for healthy lives of 91.24 is due to factors such as a poor child obesity score of 84.64 when compared to other areas.

Coming in third place is Hull, which received an overall health score of 93.09, thanks to a healthy people score of 91.14, healthy lives score of 92.7, and a healthy places score of 95.44.

The factor's impacting Hull is due to poor frailty, unhealthy eating and smoking.

Birmingham comes in fourth place due to an overall health score of 93.19.

The city scored particularly low in infant mortality with 71.94, mental health with 77.26, and physical health conditions with 79.26.

Rounding out the top five is Liverpool, which scored 93.49 on the overall health score.

It scored low on things like drug misuse, 81.30, and pupil absences, with 80.12.

How to stay healthy

It can seem like a minefield when trying to find ways to stay healthy.

Some top tips to remember include:

  • Eat a balanced diet with fruits, vegetables and wholegrains
  • Get enough sleep
  • Keep binge drinking to a minimum
  • Get enough exercise with walking being an easy activity with great benefits
  • Reduce the amount of processed foods, saturated and trans-fat to a minimum
  • Don’t eat too much sugar
  • Connect with other people
  • Practice mindfulness
  • Quit smoking

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