Health Behaviour of School Children, 1984-1985.

It is an essential health political objective in many countries - and a central element in the WHO programme 'Health for all by the year 2000' - to 'pilot' people's behaviour in a more health-promoting direction. # Health behaviour is formed in childhood and adolescence, and as it may be very difficult to change this behaviour later in life, it is very important that children and young people learn good health behavioural patterns. Improved knowledge of how health behaviour is developed in the early years is of vital importance for future health information programmes and other health-promoting measures. In 1982 the WHO therefore initiated (and has since then co-ordinated) an international research project on health behaviour of 11 to 15-year-old school children, 'Health Behaviour in School Children'. # The purposes of this research project are 1) to gain increased knowledge of the health behaviour of the 11 to 15-year-olds, 2) to gain knowledge of how health behaviour changes over time, and 3) to gain knowledge of the factors on which health behaviour is based (e.g. the children's experiences, life styles, and material and cultural living conditions). # Health behaviour is usually defined as the individual's behaviour regarding the promotion of health and the prevention of diseases. Furthermore, the definition includes abstention from health-damaging behavioural patterns. In consequence, the purpose is to examine health-promoting (e.g. physical exercise, healthy dietary habits) as well as health-damaging behaviour (e.g. smoking and unhealthy dietary habits) and to locate groups with these behavioural patterns. # The fact that the survey is carried out in many countries increases, among other things, the understanding of the significance of national and cultural factors. The research is based on nationwide, representative, cross-sectional surveys of health behaviour of 11 to 15-year-old school children at intervals of about three years. The data collection takes place in school according to carefully specified, standardized criteria. So far the survey has been carried out twice, the first time in ten countries in 1983-1985 (where the Danish part is this survey) and the second time in twelve countries in 1986-1988 (where the Danish part is filed at the DDA as DDA-1654: Physical Exercise and Health Behaviour of School Children, 1988). # For this Danish survey (which was carried out in collaboration with Karsten Kaas Ibsen, the Danish Cancer Society (Kræftens Bekæmpelse), the Committee for Health Information (Komiteen for Sundhedsoplysning) and the Institute of Social Medicine at the University of Copenhagen) all the pupils who were present in the selected classes (a total of 682) completed a questionnaire containing 40 questions about the children's social situation, health, health behaviour, spare time activities, financial conditions, contact with parents and friends, attitude to school attendance, future perspectives, and self-assessment