Great Torrington in Devon healthiest given factors such as pollution and fast-food access

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

• This article was amended on 11 July 2019. For full details please see the footnote below.

Seven of the top 10 unhealthiest places to live in Britain are in central London, while the healthiest is a small market town in Devon, a study has concluded.

Inner London had the greatest access to takeaways, pubs and off-licences, combined with high levels of air pollution and low levels of parks and green spaces, the research found.

In contrast, Great Torrington in north Devon had low levels of pollution, good access to parks, green space and health services, along with few retail outlets.

All of the remaining top 10 healthy places were in Scotland. These included Lochwinnoch and Foxbar in Renfrewshire, Fauldhouse in West Lothian, and Marnoch in North Lanarkshire.

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The University of Liverpool found that the Spitalfields area of Tower Hamlets was the unhealthiest place in Britain, followed by five other districts of central London, including Shoreditch and the other half of the Spitalfields area in the City of London. Also in the top ranks were Soho in Westminster, Shotley near Ipswich, and areas north west of Immingham in Humberside.

Researchers analysed a range of lifestyle and environmental measures including levels of air pollution, access to amenities such as fast-food outlets or pubs, and proximity to health services including GPs, in addition to parks and recreational spaces.

Dr Mark Green, a senior lecturer in health geography who undertook the study, said: “Our research, in conjunction with the Consumer Data Research Centre (CDRC) and Public Health England, has allowed us to pull together freely available information from sources such as GP surgeries, health centres, fast-food outlets, air pollution statistics published by the Environment Agency.

“The statistics reveal important insights about the concentration of certain amenities that may be damaging or promote health. For example, on average, individuals in Great Britain are just as close to a pub or bar as they are to their nearest GP, 1.1 km [0.68 miles].

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Great Torrington in Devon had low levels of pollution, and good access to parks and green space, the study found. Photograph: Paul Felix/Shutterstock

“We also found that 42% of people are within 1km (or a few minutes’ drive time) of their nearest gambling outlet. These statistics reveal troubling issues with the neighbourhoods we live in and how they may be damaging to our health.”

The findings will be presented at the International Medical Geography Symposium on Monday.

The data resource used is part of the CDRC, which aims to analyse information collected by business, local and national government organisations.

Green added: “We anticipate that this resource will be an important tool for citizens and policymakers alike interested in how their neighbourhoods may be associated to their health.”

Prof Alex Singleton, deputy director of the CDRC, said: “Our study found that access was not evenly spread across Great Britain – rural areas have poorer access to many health services, and those services which are seen as damaging to health are often concentrated in poorer areas.

“For example, 62% of people who live in the 10% most deprived areas are within 1km of a fast-food outlet compared [with] 24% in the 10% least deprived areas.”

UK’s unhealthiest places to live

1. Spitalfields, Tower Hamlets

2. Shoreditch, Hackney

3. Tottenham Court Road area, Camden

4. Hatton Garden, Camden

5. Spitalfields, City of London

6. St Giles, Camden

7. Ferry, North Lincolnshire

8. Shotley, Suffolk

9. Areas north west of Immingham, North Lincolnshire

10. Soho, Westminster

• This article was amended on 11 July 2019. Due to errors in the top 10 initially distributed with the research findings, an earlier version said that Soho was the unhealthiest place in Britain in the text and headline. The correct top 10 list is printed above.