ABSTRACT
This chapter considers some of the most simple of life chances in Britain. It shows how they are affected by social influences on lifestyle at the individual and geographical level. Normally medical explanations are made for premature mortality, but this chapter focuses solely on social and behavioural factors as explanations for mortality rates for particular groups of people in Britain. It begins by illustrating the changing regional geography of mortality in Britain through a series of maps for different age groups at two points in time. It then shows how geographical inequalities in mortality can be measured. Since the 1950s, and particularly during the 1980s, geographical inequalities in mortality and life chances in general have grown in Britain. The factors which may underlie this rise are then discussed. The chapter then shows how people can estimate their life expectancy, or, rather, the life expectancy of someone of their age, sex and characteristics.
