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[Health behaviour and changes in health behaviour - are education and social status relevant?]
T Altenhöner1, M Philippi1, J Böcken2
1Fachbereich Sozialwesen, Fachhochschule Bielefeld.
Background:
Individual health behaviour counts as an important factor for health status. A healthier lifestyle substantially contributes to better health. People burdened with lower health and with lower socio-economic status could benefit notably. So far it is not known exhaustively to what extent education and social status contribute to changes in health behaviour and which motifs play a decisive role.
Methods:
Based on cross-sectional data from the seventh wave of the "Gesundheitsmonitor", Bertelsmann Foundation, (n=1 436), the influence of social status and education on health behaviour and changes in behaviour was analysed.
Results:
Specific health behaviour correlates with level of education and socio-economic status. In contrast, regarding health behaviour changes in the last 12 months prior to survey, no social class- or education-specific effect was found. Age, health status as well as fears and wishes in relation to health seem to be important causalities for changes of health-related behaviour.
Conclusion:
Interventions to foster healthy lifestyles should include class differences in specific health-related behaviour and personal reasons for behavioural changes.
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