Newborn babies are expected to live nearly three years longer than 10 years ago, new figures show.

Life expectancy for males in Sussex has gone from 77.3 years in 2000-02 to 80.1 in 2010-12.

Women in Sussex will live some three-and-a-half years longer at 83.7 years.

But a divide remains between East and West Sussex in terms of life expectancy.

In Brighton and Hove men can expect to live 78.7 years – up from 75.6 10 years ago.


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Meanwhile females can expect to live to the age of 83 from birth in the city.

Mid Sussex residents live longest in Sussex at 81.9 years for males and 84.2 for women.

Meanwhile Hastings residents live three years less with some of the lowest estimates in the county, with women living to 81.2 and men to 77.5-years-old.

But Hastings residents still have far better prospects then the UK low in Glasgow, where men are expected to live 72.6 years and females for 78.5 years.

The figures were released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Tom Scanlon, director of public health at Brighton and Hove City Council, said: “The increase in life expectancy over the last 10 years is great news.

“Life expectancy reflects biological and social influences and for several years we have seen a consistent fall in smoking – a key factor in premature mortality.

Inequalities “Adult obesity may at last be tailing off and in Brighton and Hove the proportion of children who are at a healthy weight has improved annually for the last five years.

“Drug-related deaths, which typically happen in younger people, can have a dramatic effect on average life expectancy and these have fallen from a high of 67 deaths in 2000 to around 20.

“We have put a lot of effort into tackling smoking, substance misuse and improving exercise rates and diet – especially in children.

“There are still great inequalities in life expectancy which, in Brighton and Hove, vary by around 10 years in men and six years in women, depending on where you live; housing, employment and income are very important influences.

“However, with public health now sitting in local authorities we are better positioned not just to improve life expectancy, but also to tackle these social determinants more effectively and reduce this inequality gap between different groups of residents.”