A baby born today in Horsham is expected to live longer than a child born in Brighton and Hove.

A child in Worthing is expected to live about a year longer than a baby born in the city, according to a new study that links wealth to health.

Life beside the seaside takes average life expectancy for Brighton, 75.7 for boys and 81.2 for girls, just above the national average. It is way above Glasgow, where on average boys born today will not be expected to live past their 70th birthdays.

Top of the national table is the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea, which will host the births of the highest proportion of future octogenarians.

The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, which produced the study, said the differences were down to the variation in wealth indicated by employment rates.

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

The study looked at 432 areas, 12 in Sussex. Brighton had the lowest employment figure in Sussex after Hastings - 75.2 per cent and 70.6 per cent respectively.

The national average is 74.7 per cent.

Debbie Scott, chief executive of Tomorrow's People, a Hastings-based charity that helps the unemployed find work, said: "It's no surprise to us that people's health suffers. People deserve a better deal."

In an effort to improve the health and wealth of the unemployed, Tomorrow's People has advisers in GPs' surgeries to help people back into work.

In Horsham, where baby boys can expect to live to 79 and girls to 83, the employment rate is 84.6 per cent. Not only is Horsham top of the table in East and West Sussex it also comes out at 15th out of 432 in the national table.

Coun Vivien Lyth, cabinet member for community partnerships and housing services at Horsham District Council, said: "Living here is wonderful. Not only do we have wonderful countryside and clean air but we also do a lot for older people. Keeping mentally active and socially engaged really helps. Quality of life is very important to us."

The Government's National Statistics office has good news for everyone, no matter where they live. In 2002, life expectancy at birth for women born in the UK was 81 and 76 for men. In 1901, the average was 49 for women and 45 for men.