Public Health England (PHE) has published for the first time a report on the health of the population in England.

In the report ‘Health Profile for England,’ PHE has used its wealth of population health data to give an overall picture of the health of England.

It found that people are living longer than ever with life expectancy in England now reaching 79.5 years for males and 83.1 years for females. However, much of the extra time is spent in poor health.

Health inequalities between different population groups are a major theme of the report. In the richest areas, people enjoy nearly 20 more years in good health than people in the poorest areas.

The report covers life expectancy, major causes of death, morbidity trends, European comparisons, inequality in health, social determinants of health and current health protection issues.

Some of the report’s more notable findings include:

  • Life expectancy has increased more than years in good health and therefore the number of years lived in poor health has also increased
  • Diabetes makes the top 10 causes of ill-health and disability (morbidity) for the first time
  • The two biggest risk factors behind levels of ill health are excess weight and high blood sugar
  • Lower back and neck pain are the biggest causes of ill health
  • While deaths from heart disease and stroke have halved since 2001, it’s still the biggest killer of men
  • The biggest killers for women are Alzheimer’s disease and dementia

Duncan Selbie, Chief Executive of PHE said: "Good public health is not defined by health policy alone. Our health profiles show a high-quality education, a well-designed and warm home, a good job and a community to belong to are just as important. The more we consider the impact of all policies on population health, the sooner we can focus on preventing poor health instead of only dealing with its consequences, especially for those from the most deprived communities."