Health and Lifestyle Survey - Major studies
General - Health
Nutrition - Health
Physical fitness and exercise - Health
Social indicators and quality of life - Society and culture
Following a number of feasibility studies and pilot surveys carried out in 1978, the first Health and Lifestyle Survey (HALS1) (held at the UKDA under SN 2218), funded by the Health Promotion Research Trust, was carried out in 1984-1985 on a random sample of the population of England, Scotland and Wales. A follow-up survey, HALS2, was conducted in 1991-1992. Ethical approval for the initial pilot studies was obtained locally, and ethical approval for the main HALS surveys was received from the BMA Ethical Committee before the launch of each survey.
The first survey, HALS1, was designed as a unique attempt to describe the self-reported health, attitudes to health and beliefs about causes of disease in relation to measurements of health (e.g. blood pressure and lung function) and lifestyle in adults of all ages and circumstances living in their own homes in all parts of Great Britain. It also examined the distribution of, and the relationship between, physical and mental health, health-related behaviour (diet, exercise, smoking and alcohol consumption) and social circumstances. Following completion of HALS1, the respondents were 'flagged' with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) National Health Service register at Southport,so that notification of deaths and copies of death certificates of respondents were provided to the HALS1 team. (Note that at the time of HALS1 and 2, ONS was known as the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys (OPCS).)
At the time of HALS1, a repeat survey was not foreseen, so no attempt was made to retain contact with the respondents to HALS1. However, when funding again became available from the Health Promotion Research Trust, as many of the respondents to HALS1 were traced as possible, and re-surveyed for HALS2 (held under SN 3279), which was conducted in 1991-1992. The principal aims of HALS2 were to examine the changes over seven years in the health and circumstances of the surviving respondents of HALS1.
A further HALS dataset is held under SN 6339, which includes deaths and causes of death, and registrations of cancer morbidity and mortality for HALS respondents, currently up to June 2009.
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Main Topics:
Demographic, working and social circumstances; self-reported health; physiological measures (anthropometry, blood pressure, respiratory function, environmental and exhaled carbon monoxide); tests of cognitive functioning (reaction time, memory and reasoning); personality and psychiatric status; dietary habits; exercise, work and leisure; alcohol consumption; smoking; beliefs about disease and health, and health related attitudes.
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Publications
Cox, B.D. and Whichelow, M.J. (1985) 'Carbon monoxide levels in the breath of smokers: effect of domestic heating systems', British Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 39, pp.75-78.
Whichelow, M.J. et al. (1986) 'Dietary habits of smokers', British Journal of Addiction, 81, p.714.
Cox, B.D. et al. (1987), Health and lifestyle survey, Cambridge: The Health Promotion Trust.
Blaxter, M. (1987) 'Evidence on inequality in health from a national survey', The Lancet, 11, pp.30-33.
Huppert, F.A. et.al. (1988) 'The value of an improved scoring system (CGHQ) for the General Health Questionnaire in a representative community sample', Psychological Medicine, 18, pp.1001-1006.
Whichelow, M.J. et al. (1988) 'Comparison of some dietary habits of smokers and non-smokers', British Journal of Addiction, 83, pp.295-304.
Cox, B.D. (1989) 'The relationship of smoking habits to waist/hip ratio in the Health and Lifestyle Survey', International Journal of Obesity, 13, supplement 1, pp.S80.
Cox, B.D. (1989) 'Association of leisure and sporting activities with health in the Health and Lifestyle Survey', Fit For Life symposium, Cambridge: The Health Promotion Research Trust, pp.3-27.
Elliott, B.J. and Huppert, F.A. (1989?)'In sickness and in health: associations between physical and mental wellbeing, employment, and parental status in a British nationwide sample of married women', Psychological Medicine, Promotion Vol.3.
Huppert, F.A. et al. (1989) 'The factor structure of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-30): a reliability study on 6317 community residents', British Journal of Psychiatry, 155, pp.178-185.
Huppert, F.A. and Weinstein, A.D. (1989?), Qualitative differences in psychiatric symptoms between high risk groups assessed on a screening test (GHQ-30).
Whichelow, M.J. (1989) 'Which foods contain dietary fibre? The beliefs of a random sample of the British population', European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 42, pp.945-951.
Whichelow, M.J. (1989) 'Choice of spread by a random sample of the British population', European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 43, pp.1-10.
Blaxter, M. (1990), Health and lifestyles, London: Tavistock Routledge.
Cox, B.D. and Whichelow, M.J. (1990) 'Body Mass Index, Waist/Hip Ratio and Pulse Rate in non-smokers, smokers and ex-smokers relative to time of quitting', International Journal of Obesity, 14, supplement 2, pp.S108.
Huppert, F.A. et al. (1990) 'Reliability of GHQ factor structures', British Journal of Psychiatry, 156, pp.131-132.
Whichelow, M.J. and Erzinclioglu, S.W. (1990) 'Is there a North/South divide? Regional variations in the diet of British adults', Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 49, 76A.
Whichelow, M.J. and Erzinclioglu, S.W. (1990) 'Comparison of the diet of smokers and non-smokers', Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 49, 42A.
Whichelow, M.J. and Treasure, F.P. (1990) 'Diet and health in a random sample of British adults', Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 49, 57A.
Cox, B.D., Huppert, F.A. and Whichelow, M.J. (1993), The Health and Lifestyle Survey: seven years on, Aldershot: Dartmouth.
A more comprehensive bibliography also appears in the main HALS documentation.
