March

As the ONS start to widen the subjective wellbeing data they gather, local authority media picked up on the angle that regional evidently Regional happiness league tables might be in the offing. That’s one league no local council will want to be bottom of – last time such a table was done (2008), Powys came top. They also, however, point out the unfortunate timing of this interest in happiness just as the economic cuts start to really kick in.

Down under, the Sydney Morning Herald – presumably as their readers wake up to another bright sunny day – report that having a positive outlook can significantly improve your life expectancy and health as you grow older. The interesting thing (despite the somewhat disturbing photo that accompanies this article) was that this new study found links between personal outlook and longetivety that were even stronger than evidence linking obesity and reduced life expectancy. It may be common sense, but it also has a statistically sound back up.

Nearer home the Telegraph quote a Bupa study under the headline "Unhealthy lifestyle cuts 12 years off average Briton's Life " and claim that "middle-aged women are among the unhealthiest groups in the country because they eat too much and exercise too little,…"

Latest official data from the Children and Young People's Wellbeing Monitor for Wales showed, amongst other things, a 44% increase in the number of children taken being taken into care in Wales over the last decade – quite a shocking statistic. This survey also sought the views of young people themselves, revealing the disturbing fact that less than one-in-three adolescents report eating fruit or vegetables daily. It’s a big jump from awareness raising to behavioural change.

On a lighter note the Daily Mail, always aware of its readership profile, highlighted a new book by Lewis Wolpert from Univeristy College London under the headline "We are happiest when we retire", which, according to the Mail, concluded that we are generally happiest when we reach 70. Whether everyone gets to reach 70 in good health, with sufficient income and company must be an entirely different matter.