A new data study of the health of the nation generated some fairly lurid headlines in the press this week.

The Longer Lives map, created by the new organisation Public Health England, ranks 150 local authorities by their premature death rates (deaths occurring before age 75).

The interactive map also enables users to compare these areas by five common causes of premature (and potentially preventable) deaths:

• cancer
• heart disease
• stroke
• lung diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease 
• liver diseases such as cirrhosis

It's clear from the map that outer London is less unhealthy than inner London - and in the main east london fares worse than west London.

Probably not best reading for hypochondriacs ... but a close look at the aggregate figures for our two local authorities make an interesting comparison.

• Overall Enfield is ranked 32nd out of 150 local authorities with 237 premature deaths per 100,000 of poulation putting it in the "best" category.
• However, Haringey, ranked at 79th is identifed as "worse than average" with 280 premature deaths per 100,000 of poulation.

A more detailed look at the figures shows Haringey is particularly poor in the Liver disease category (105th in England) whilst fewer Enfield residents die of Cancer than those in 133 other local authority areas.

It is always interesting comparing borough-wide figures for our neighbourhood - which sits on the edge of two local authorities. Clearly, a trip on the 329 across the North Circular will have no effect on any individual's health. Unsurprisingly health results are clearly correlated with wealth and deprivation indecies. Whilst the website does link to healthy living advice and preventative health information, the biggest influence on longer life is life chances set in childhood. 

You can explore the full data at the Public Health England website