Taking The Pulse Of The Nation: The Latest Findings From The Health Survey For England

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 04 Feb 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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More people are taking recommended levels of physical activity and eating the recommended five daily portions of fruit and vegetables, according to the latest Health Survey for England. But they still remain a minority of the population. At the same time, there has been an increase in the number of people consuming more than the recommended intake of fats. What's more, there have been increases in diabetes, obesity (including among children) and cardiovascular disease.

"While it is encouraging that there are signs people are beginning to improve their lifestyles - eating more fruit and vegetables, exercising more, smoking less - many serious health conditions continue to increase, and we need to do more to reduce risks of heart disease," said Rachel Craig, Research Director of the Health Survey for England at NatCen.

The survey also looks at childhood overweight and obesity, which are linked with numerous long-term and immediate health risks. Around three in ten children aged 2-15 are either overweight or obese (31% of boys and 29% of girls). 17% of boys aged 2-15 are obese, and 15% of girls. While there have been fluctuations from year to year, overall increases in the average 'body mass index' (BMI) are evident for each age group since 1995. Average BMI increased by 0.7 kg/m2 for boys and 0.6 kg/m2 for girls.

"Marked inequalities in lifestyle and in health continue to exist in England. The lower your income, the more likely you are to smoke or be obese, and the less likely to eat sufficient fruit and vegetables or be active enough. So not surprisingly, people with lower incomes also have worse health, with more people reporting heart disease or stroke, and having diabetes or untreated high blood pressure," said Dr Jennifer Mindell of University College London, who leads the UCL team working on the Health Survey.

Health researchers from the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) and UCL (University College London) have conducted a comprehensive national survey, interviewing and testing thousands of people, on behalf of the Information Centre, part of the NHS. Key findings from the annual Health Survey for England 2006, which is published today, include:

Cardiovascular disease

Around one in seven adults have some form of cardiovascular disease (14% of men and 13% of women). While heart disease is uncommon in those aged under 35, as many as 44% of men and 37% of women aged 75 and over suffer from some cardiovascular condition.

These conditions include heart attack, stroke and angina as well as other conditions such as heart murmur or abnormal heart rhythm. Heart attack, angina and stroke are more prevalent among men than women.
Since the Health Survey for England started recording data about cardiovascular disease in 1994, levels have increased, mainly among those aged 75 and over. While this disease is a major health burden, increasingly effective detection and treatment mean that death rates from cardiovascular disease in England have been falling - although it remains the main cause of death.

Diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity

Accompanying the increase in cardiovascular disease, there has been an increase in diabetes and obesity. 31% of men and 28% of women have high blood pressure, and around one in 20 have diabetes. Again, both of these conditions are much more common among older adults (65 and over). Cases of diabetes diagnosed by a doctor have more than doubled since 1994.

The proportion of people with high blood pressure has decreased among both men and women in more recent years (between 2003 and 2006). This includes fewer people with untreated high blood pressure. At the same time, there has been an increase in the proportion of people being treated successfully so that their blood pressure is controlled.

Levels of obesity continue to rise. 67% of men and 56% of women are either overweight or obese, based on BMI. This includes 24% of both men and women who are obese (compared with 14% of men and 17% of women in 1994). 41% of women and 32% of men have raised waist circumference, another measure of obesity.

Recent guidance from the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) indicates that there are increased health risks for people with a high waist measurement, especially if they are overweight or obese, and the survey shows that more than half of men and women are at increased risk according to these criteria.

Physical activity, diet, and smoking and drinking

Many of the risk factors for heart disease are known, and lifestyle behaviour can influence the chances of developing it. The Health Survey for England report looks at physical activity, diet, smoking and drinking among the population:

- Only a minority of adults meet the Chief Medical Officer's recommendations for physical activity of five or more sessions of at least 30 minutes of moderate activity per week (40% of men, 28% of women). But this has increased since 1997, up from 32% of men and 21% of women, with people spending more time walking and taking part in sport and exercise.

- More people are eating the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, up five percentage points since 2004, from 23% to 28% among men and from 27% to 32% among women. But there has also been a marked increase in the proportion of men and women consuming more than the recommended fat intake since 2003: from 6% to 14% of men, and from 3% to 7% of women.

- 24% of men and 21% of women report smoking cigarettes (they were surveyed before the ban on smoking in public places came into force). Cigarette smoking has decreased between 1993 and 2006, falling from 28% to 24% among men, and from 26% to 21% among women.

- Exposure to other people's smoke is also higher among men than women: an average of 6 hours a week for men and 4.5 hours a week for women. This has fallen since 1998.

- There has been little change in drinking behaviour since 1998. According to a revised method of calculating units of alcohol drunk in the last week, 41% of men and 33% of women drank more than the recommended amounts (more than four units for men and more than three units for women) on at least one day in the last week.

Notes

Summary and full copies of the Health Survey for England 2006 can be obtained from http://www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/HSE06CVDandriskfactors, or by contacting NatCen's Press Officer using the details below.

The sixteenth annual Health Survey for England was conducted by health researchers from the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) and the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at UCL (University College London). The survey is funded and published by the Information Centre for health and social care.

A unique source of health information, the Health Survey for England is the most comprehensive heath survey undertaken in England, covering adults and children living in Britain's leading independent social research institute private households. It is designed to inform national health policy and stimulate research by providing accurate and detailed data about the health needs of the general population.

More than 14,000 adults and more than 7,000 children agreed to be interviewed and tested for the 2006 survey. It focused particularly on cardiovascular disease and the health and lifestyle risk factors for developing cardiovascular disease. The survey also looked at obesity and health risk factors among children.

National Centre for Social Research