Standing view · health · North Devon
deteriorating, held with established confidence, formed on 5 October 2026 from movements in 2025.
Health measures in North Devon have been worsening. Deaths before age 75, per 100,000 was 372.41 in 2023 and adults who smoke 16.37 in 2024, both recorded as unfavourable against the usual pattern for their year. Running the other way, adults who are obese was 18.87 in 2023/24 and deaths before age 75, per 100,000 311.61 in 2024, both favourable, with adults who are physically active at 67.26 in 2024/25. Two measures each way, with the early-death rate reversing on itself, and the smoking reading is what tips the view toward worsening.
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 North Devon. Where no figure supports a direction we hold no view rather than a hedged one.
| Measure | Period | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Adults who are obese | 2023/24 | improving |
| Deaths before age 75, per 100,000 | 2023 | deteriorating |
| Adults who smoke | 2024 | deteriorating |
| Deaths before age 75, per 100,000 | 2024 | improving |
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 | 2024/25 | — |