[Does health knowledge affect behavior?]

An investigation was carried out into how far personal behaviour with regard to health is controlled by consciousness and attitude towards health-relevant subjects. 387 young men between the ages of 18 and 22 were interviewed on their knowledge, views and health behaviour in respect of the following problem areas: sport, smoking, alcohol consumption, food and use of medicines. 76% of the men who had graduated from German High School (compared with 60% who had not) are engaged in sports on a regular basis. It was not possible to find any concurrence between the positive assessment of sports in terms of health and the extent of training. 89% of all the respondents considered smoking to be very damaging to health. There were no significant differences between smokers and non-smokers, nor was there any significant difference in the consumption of alcohol between high-school graduates and non-graduates. The men who participated more actively in sports indicated a much lower consumption of alcohol. The high-school graduates paid greater attention to dietary fibres in the food and tended to avoid cholesterol (71% compared with 53%). 86% of all the respondents took no medicines and there were no significant differences between the groups. By and large it was established that the translation of cognitively established health-relevant attitudes into reality and personal action was indeed poor.