Public Health Liverpool

Live well

Living well is essential in helping us manage our health and maintain our independence. Unhealthy lifestyle behaviours, such as smoking or drinking alcohol, determine the burden of disease and illness within a population. Some of the risk factors for the city are highlighted below.

Key facts

  • Smoking prevalence in Liverpool has reduced from 22.3% in 2011 to 17.8% in 2021 and is significantly worse than nationally (13.0%).
  • In 2020/21, 65.9% Liverpool adults were classified as either overweight or obese, which is significantly worse than the national average (63.5%).
  • In Liverpool, around 46.7% of adults consume the recommended ‘5-a-day’ which is the lowest out of the 8 core cities and significantly below nationally (55.4%).
  • Around 26.9% of adults (aged 19+) are physically inactive (<30 moderate intensity equivalent minutes per week), significantly higher than England (23.4%) and the 2nd highest among the core cities.
  • Hospital admissions for alcohol-specific conditions in the city are 1.8 times higher than the national average with around 4,935 per year, and Liverpool’s premature mortality rate for liver disease is 1.6 times above the national rate.
  • Drug misuse is a significant cause of premature mortality in the UK. In Liverpool around 56 people die from drug misuse each year. Liverpool’s rate of 12.9 per 100,000 is 2.6 times higher than the national average and the 5th highest in England.
  • There are around 4,686 new Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) diagnoses in the city each year and our diagnosis rate of 936 per 100,000 population is significantly higher than nationally (551 per 100,000).
  • Around 3,293 people (0.6%) are known to have a learning disability.

Detailed needs assessments

The following health needs assessments have been published in relation to living well:

Local strategies

Liverpool information

Office for Health Improvements and Disparities profiles