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Mind the gap - Londoners get highest and lowest wellbeing scores

Our new report, released later this year, shows London has UK’s greatest concentrations of people with highest & lowest wellbeing scores
7 October 2016

Our new wellbeing report - which questioned a nationally representative sample of 1,000 UK adults on 14 aspects of wellbeing and how these are affected by physical activity, mental stimulation, relationships, finances and education - uncovers London as the area of the UK with the highest proportion of people at both ends of the wellbeing spectrum.

Londoners are more than twice as likely as the rest of the nation to have lifestyles leading to high wellbeing scores, but are also over 30% more likely to have lifestyles that lead to the lowest scores. For example, London residents possess the largest divide between levels of physical activity, social activity, financial confidence and positive experiences of education.

The charity is now calling for efforts to be made to help tackle the city’s wellbeing gap and is kicking off with an event later this month. 

Rosi Prescott, chief executive of Central YMCA, said: “London has long been talked about as a city of haves and have-nots and this is reflected in the wellbeing of not only Londoners, but of those living in many modern cities.

“These scores tell a tale of two cities: one London that is thriving and one that is suffering more than the rest of the UK. 

“These scores tell a tale of two cities: one London that is thriving and one that is suffering more than the rest of the UK. "
Rosi Prescott, chief executive of Central YMCA

“We now must begin to address ways to narrow this gap, and we’ll be working over the coming months to explore ways this can be achieved through the work we do to tackle the complexities of modern epidemics such as mental illness, obesity and loneliness.”

Central YMCA held the first event in our Eudaimonia series on 13th October, exploring ways to narrow London’s wellbeing gap. In partnership with The School of Life, the event brought together some of the brightest philosophers, psychologists, designers, entrepreneurs and medical professionals – including Charles Leadbeater and Alain de Botton – to discuss some of the latest innovations in wellbeing and how people can live better in 21st century London. 

Find out more about the #Eudaimonia movement.

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