People north of the border spend more on alcohol and tobacco, are more overweight, participate less in sport and suffer more long-term illness than those in England and Wales.
The Bowbridge area of Dundee has the dubious distinction of being Britain’s sickest area. Residents there spend, on average, £1,100 a year on alcohol and tobacco compared with £890 in Cheam, in Surrey, which is Britain’s healthiest neighbourhood. Bowbridge is followed closely by central Greenock, Seaton, in Aberdeen and St James, in Paisley, at the foot of the country’s health league.
The study, which is broken down into council wards, was conducted by Caci, a firm of American statisticians, and will be used by the government to target public spending to the areas which need it most.
The research follows the publication of a study by the World Health Organisation which showed that Scots have the lowest life expectancy in Europe.
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Phil Hanlon, professor of public health at Glasgow University, said it was a further indication that Scotland has a serious public health problem which needs to be addressed urgently.
“This study is not welcome in that it confirms our efforts are having an effect in some areas but not in the poorest ones,” he said. “Much has been done, there’s much more still to do. Scotland’s health is improving but the pendulum is still to swing in the poorest areas.”