A new Government report paints a mostly positive picture of the health and well-being of Barnet's 330,000 residents, showing they live longer, healthier lives than many in England.

The Health Profile of England - released by the Department of Health - reveals one in three people in the borough eat healthily, and fewer people are obese or smoke than the national average.

Only one in five Barnet residents smoke, compared with one in four nationwide; one in five adults in Barnet are clinically obese.

There are far fewer deaths from smoking, heart disease, stroke and cancers, and residents are less likely to feel in poor health than the national average.

But it is not all good news. Nearly one in five children in Barnet lives in poverty, marginally above the England average.

While life expectancy in Barnet is significantly higher than the national average - 78.4 years for men and 82.6 for women - residents in Burnt Oak, Colindale, Coppetts and High Barnet live on average marginally shorter lives than people in Mill Hill, West Finchley and Woodhouse.

Teenage pregnancy in Barnet remains low, although the figure is rising sharply.

A Barnet Primary Care Trust (PCT) spokesman said: "Just as we must address the more immediate determinants of health and health inequalities, such as smoking, alcohol consumption and poor diet, so must we address the more fundamental determinants such as poverty, education and housing."

He added that the PCT is working with Barnet Council on health development and regeneration, such as the projects planned for Dollis Valley, Grahame Park, West Hendon, Stonegrove and Cricklewood, to enable people to live more healthily.

Andrew Burnett, Barnet PCT director of health improvement, added: "We can't change our genes or stop ourselves getting older but we can, for example, if we want to live longer, healthier lives, stop smoking, drink less alcohol, eat sensibly and exercise more."

The Government report is aimed at providing local councillors, healthcare commissioners and other public sector professionals with a way of comparing their own data with the 386 local authorities in England, and looking at national and regional trends. It is the first time the health of Barnet's residents can be reliably compared with people living elsewhere in the country.