Thurrock facts and statistics

Lifestyle choices such as eating habits, smoking, physical activity and alcohol intake can be major factors in people's health and well-being. Thurrock's population shows several poor effects of lifestyle choices compared with England as a whole.

Obesity

In 2016/17, the percentage of adults in Thurrock who were classified as overweight or obese was 69.4% – significantly worse than the average for England of 61.3%.

The percentage of obese children in Thurrock is significantly worse than England. In year 6, 23% of children were obese in 2016/17) compared to 20% in England overall.

In 2016/17, 51.3% of Thurrock's population was consuming the recommended 5-a-day portions of fruit and vegetables on 'usual days', which is significantly lower than the average for England of 57.4%.

Physical activity

In 2016/17, 59.5% of adults in Thurrock were meeting the recommended guidelines for physically activity, slightly better than the 54.8% in 2015/16 but still lower than the average for England.

Source: Public Health England

Smoking

Smoking prevalence in adults in Thurrock was 17.7% in 2017, which is significantly worse than England. The England trend of current smokers has been reducing steadily, but rates in Thurrock have only started to decline since 2016.

Source: Public Health England

Alcohol misuse

The 2016/17 rate of hospital admissions due to alcohol-specific conditions was lower in Thurrock than in England as a whole, with 296 for every 100,000 people in Thurrock compared to 563 for every 100,000 in England.

The table below – based on Public Health England: Local Alcohol Profiles – shows rates for every 100,000 people.

This is just one way of recording evidence of harmful drinking behaviour. Further information can be found on Public Health England: Public Health Profiles.

Sexual health

Chlamydia is the most commonly diagnosed bacterial sexually transmitted infection in England, with rates substantially higher in young adults than in any other age group. The rate of chlamydia diagnoses in 15 to 24 year-olds in Thurrock was significantly below the national average in 2017.

The detection rate has increased locally since 2015, while national rates have been decreasing since 2012, causing the gap between Thurrock and England to reduce in recent years.

Public Health England recommends a detection rate of 2,300 cases from every 100,000 young people aged 15 to 24 to reduce the prevalence of chlamydia. The table below shows diagnosis rates per 100,000 young people aged 15 to 24, as recorded by Public Health England.

More information

You can find more information in our Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) and on the Public Health England: public health dashboard.