Overall, it shows there are 9,230 children living in poverty, life expectancy for men and women is lower then average, 21.5 per cent of Year-6 schoolchildren are obese and levels of teenage pregnancy and tooth decay in children are worse than the national average.
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| LIGHTING UP: There are higher rates of smoking during pregnancy and drug misuse in the most deprived areas of North East Lincolnshire compared with the national average. |
It is a similar story in neighbouring district East Lindsey, where women have a lower life expectancy than the national average and 21.4 per cent of Year-6 schoolchildren are obese.
Rates of diabetes are also significantly higher than the national average and an estimated 19.6 per cent of adults smoke, while 25.3 per cent are obese.
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WEIGHTY ISSUE: The English Public Health Observatories health profile shows almost a quarter of Year-6 schoolchildren in our region are obese. |
There are also higher rates of infant deaths, smoking during pregnancy and drug misuse.
Director of Public Health for North East Lincolnshire Care Trust Plus Geoff Barnes said the majority of the problems stem from long-running socioeconomic issues, such as high unemployment levels and poverty.
Improving health inequalities is one of the council's top priorities and is included in the Council Plan for 2011-15. However, council leader Chris Shaw said it is everyone's responsibility – especially parents – to improve the statistics.
He said: "This is about lifestyle, it is about parenting and it is about educating – if you are brought up badly then it is bound to have an impact.
"We have families that seem to have enough money to buy cigarettes, but don't buy food for their children.
"We have been trying to change this for years, but we have never been able to do it to the extent we want to.
"There is intergenerational unemployment – whole families are not working. They are on minimal funds and they cannot afford to eat the food we would like them to eat.
"The responsibility lies with all of us – this council, the Government, people working for health and the people and parents to make sure the standard of living is made better."
In East Lindsey, early death rates from heart disease and strokes have fallen in line with the England average, but in North East Lincolnshire, these remain worse than the national average.
In both areas, early cancer rates have dropped significantly over the past ten years and are now in line with the national average.
Council deputy leader and portfolio holder for health and well-being Mick Burnett praised groups such as the Lung Cancer Collaborative which have helped bring down the number of early deaths from cancer, and the Supporting Young People's Services which have improved the rates of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
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| LIFE BEGINS: levels of teenage pregnancy are higher in our region than the national average |
But he stressed people must work with them if the figures are to continue to improve. He said: "It is a hard slog. All these systems and schemes we have to try to tackle these health inequalities have made a difference.
"But the fact is, people still have a choice and the difficulty we face is making people realise they need to stop doing what they are doing.
"We have lots of healthy schemes, such as promoting the importance of eating five portions of fruit and veg a day, but parents need to work with us on these issues.
"It is just as frustrating for us as it is everyone else. We have to get some of these statistics down. It is not like we have been ignoring these issues, we have the schemes and we can make them work.
"Everybody is doing their best to change these terrible statistics. We are not avoiding our responsibilities.
"Improving these health inequalities is very high on our agenda, as it should be.
"We owe it to the communities in North East Lincolnshire and we will continue to do our best to reduce these figures."
To see the report in full, log onto www.apho.org.uk
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