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2024 Annual Report from Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty, focusing on ‘Health In Cities'.

• City populations are more transient and the health system needs to be flexible to better support people.
• Air pollution, lack of green spaces, areas with limited healthy food choices and low screening and vaccination rates are examples of issues driving health inequalities in entrenched areas of deprivation.
• The mechanisms needed to support older people to maintain good health in cities are different than in less dense populations centres.

Cities present a range of health opportunities and challenges for the large and diverse populations that live in them, the Chief Medical Officer’s annual report on ‘Health in Cities’, states today (Thursday 12 December).

Often areas of entrenched deprivation have the unhealthiest environments including low healthy food choices including higher numbers of fast food outlets, air pollution and low quality housing. These factors continue to drive health inequalities with the least deprived living in good health for much longer than the most deprived.

Despite the availability of multiple and specialist healthcare facilities which benefit many citizens, the report shows that vaccination and screening uptake is lower and STI rates are higher in cities. The healthcare system needs to be flexible to better support individuals and drive up vaccination and screening rates.

Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty, said:

Cities provide great opportunities for a healthier life but many, especially in areas of deprivation, have poor access to healthy food choices, exercise and are exposed to air pollution. These are soluble problems.

People move frequently within cities which contain a diversity of population groups – the health system must adapt to them, not the other way around. There are many older citizens living in cities and it is important they are supported to live healthier lives. Addressing the health challenges of cities require a broad range of actions from policymakers, the NHS and individual citizens.

Professor Whitty outlines a series of recommendations within the report to address health in cities, particularly for people living in areas of deprivation. These include action on risk factors such as obesity and air pollution, the food environment and healthcare service planning and delivery.

The Chief Medical Officer’s reports have been released annually over 150 years, providing an independent assessment of the state of the public’s health in England.