Standing view · health · Mid Devon
improving, held with established confidence, formed on 5 October 2026 from movements in 2025.
Health measures in Mid Devon have been improving, on a divided set. Adults who smoke was 11.5 in 2023, recorded as favourable against the usual pattern for its year, while adults who are obese was 32.57 in 2024/25 and unfavourable. Adults who are physically active stood at 70.08 in 2023/24. One measure each way, with a third giving a level but no direction, is thin for a view either way; the smoking movement is what the direction rests on, which is why this is held as established rather than strong.
A view is formed only where the evidence names a figure you can check. Each movement listed as a reason had to be large enough to matter and distinctive in at least one way — unusual against this area's own history, unusual against comparable areas, or sustained over several periods. A movement shared with peers counts for less, because it says something about the country rather than about Mid Devon. Where no figure supports a direction we hold no view rather than a hedged one.
| Measure | Period | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Adults who smoke | 2023 | improving |
| Adults who are obese | 2024/25 | deteriorating |
These figures carry no defensible direction of their own: a rising house price is good news to an owner and bad news to someone trying to buy, so we do not score one as an improvement. They are shown because they are part of the picture, and they did not decide the view above.
| Measure | Period | Series |
|---|---|---|
| Adults who are physically active | 2023/24 | — |