Health divide between capital's rich and poor areas is revealed

The stark health gap between London's most affluent and deprived areas was highlighted today.

A new report profiling the health of the capital's boroughs revealed a postcode lottery in life expectancy, childhood obesity and breastfeeding rates.

Compared to the rest of England the report showed London had high rates of drug use and violent crime as well as pockets of deprivation. But the capital also recorded the highest life expectancy rates and a betterthanaverage rate of early cancer deaths.

The report found that people living in Kensington and Chelsea had England's highest life expectancy, with men living to 83.1 years and women to

87.2 years.

That means men in the affluent London borough live 10 years longer than those in Manchester, while women there live nine years longer than those in Liverpool. It also revealed that children in Hackney are more likely to be obese than anywhere else in the country, with 16.1 per cent of children in school reception classes rated as obese.

Nationally just under 10 per cent of children in that age group are obese.

More mothers in Lambeth breastfeed their children than anywhere else in the country, with 90.1per cent of new mums doing it compared to a national average of 69 per cent.

The Health Profiles, published by the department for health, provide a snapshot for each local council in England. They are designed to help the NHS decide where to target resources to tackle health inequalities.

The London profile states: "The health of people in London shows a mixed picture compared to England as a whole. There are inequalities within the London region, with the health of people in Newham and Hackney generally worse than the national average, while in Richmond upon Thames and Kingston it is generally better."

The figures also show London has low levels of binge drinking, adult obesity and smoking during pregnancy.

Public health minister Dawn Primarolo said: "Inequalities around the country are stark but the NHS and local authorities can use these profiles to target local health hotspots with effective measures to make a real difference. I am confident that we can confront the issues facing communities head on and make health inequalities everyone's business."