Londoners less healthy than other major cities' residents

The current state of Londoners' health is lagging behind residents in other major cities, a London health organization said Wednesday, citing a new report it would released in October.

The London Health Commission on Wednesday said they would publish a Global Comparison study, which undertook a global comparison of 10 top world cities in terms of health, including Sydney, Toronto, Paris, Tokyo, New York, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Madrid and Sao Paolo.

The study revealed that children and adults living in London are facing relatively severe obesity problems compared with other major cities. The British capital has a higher rate of childhood obesity than anywhere else in the country, 22.4 percent for six-year children in London compared with 18.9 percent in England as a whole.

It said that London children leave primary school with more than a third overweight or obese, making it the highest rate of any major city in the world.

Meanwhile, the population of people smoke in London is relatively high, as 18 percent of citizens smoke, while in the healthiest city Hong Kong, only 13 percent people smoke.

London is also ranked in the middle in terms of suicide rate, according to the study.

Hong Kong leads the way in health outcomes for its population with the longest life expectancy and lowest infant mortality rate, it indicated.

"The Commission's research raises critical questions about obesity in London. We have already introduced a number of initiatives aimed at tackling obesity, promoting healthy eating and getting more active, including programmes to boost cycling and walking and our Healthy Schools London scheme," Mayor of London Boris Johnson commented.

Lord Ara Darzi, independent chair of the London Health Commission told Xinhua that the organization is also concerned about people's mental health, heart diseases, strokes and many other aspects of health in London, and the full study would be released on Oct. 16.

He said that the obesity problem in London cannot be ignored, and London needs to learn from those cities with better experiences in tackling children's obesity problems.

Darzi called for efforts to help citizens choose healthier lifestyles while also providing them with the health, support and services they need.

Mayor Johnson said he would also look forward to receiving Lord Darzi's recommendations of some measures to cope with the current healthy problems in London in October.