MEN born in Wyre Forest between 2002 and 2004 are less likely to live to see their 80th birthdays than their counterparts in neighbouring districts, according to research relating lifespan to wealth.

Women, however, in Wyre Forest could live to roughly the same or slightly higher ages as those elsewhere in Worcestershire.

A study released to coincide with Physiotherapy Week 2006 has ranked every area in the UK by estimates of lifespans of boys and girls born today.

The average male life expectancy for Wyre Forest will be 76.3 years, compared to the highest rating district, Wychavon, with 78.8. Malvern Hills comes next, with 77.7. Next lowest after Wyre Forest is Worcester City, with 76.9.

Women in Wyre Forest could expect to live to 81.3, higher than Worcester's 80.8 but lower than Redditch's 81.1. Wychavon was again top for women, at 82.6.

The highest anticipated male lifespan nationally - 80.8 years - was for men born in Kensington and Chelsea and East Dorset.

The study, by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) claimed there was a link between wealth and lifespan, with traditionally wealthy areas having the highest male life expectancy rates.

Employment rates for the respective areas were also taken into account for the research, making them yardsticks for comparative affluence.

Wyre Forest's employment rate for people of working age in employment between April, 2004 and March, 2005 was 74.7 per cent, compared with 79.4 per cent for Wychavon, 78.2 for Worcester and 77.9 for Redditch.

For the West Midlands, men would be expected to live to 75.9 years, which was below the UK average of 76.3. The lowest life expectancy was in Glasgow City, with 69.3.

Phil Gray, chief executive of the CSP, said: "It is, sadly, still a fact of life that the poorer die younger. Lifespan should not be determined by wealth in 2006."