FROM VITAL & HEALTH STATISTICS OF THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR HEALTH STATISTICS 

us. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH . public Health Service Number 64 . November 4,1980 AND HUMAN SERVICES Office of Health Research, Statistics, and Technology 

Health Practices Among Adults: United States, 1977a 

A study of the relationship between personal 

health practices and health consequences was 

conducted in A1ameda County, California, in 

1965 by the Human Population Laboratory of 

the California State Department of Public 

Health. 1 Findings indicated a positive relationship between good health practices and physical 

health status. A 9-year followup study, examining 

mortality rates among the original sample of 

6,928 adults, showed a strong inverse relationship between the total number of good health 

practices reported in 1965 and age-specific 

mortality rates.z Seven good health practices 

were identified in this study: (1) sleeping an 

average of 7-8 hours a night; (2) eating breakfast almost every day; (3) seldom, if ever, eating 

snacks; (4) controlling one’s weight (weighing 

within 5 percent under and 19.9 percent over 

the desirable standard weight, if male, or 

weighing not more than 9.9 percent over the 

desirable standard weight, if female); (5) exercising: engaging in active sports, swimming, 

taking long walks, gardening, or doing physical 

exercises; (6) limiting alcohol consumption to 

less than five drinks at one sitting; and (7) never 

having smoked cigarettes. Persons reporting six 

or seven of these health practices were shown 

to have better health status and to live longer 

than persons reporting less than four of them. 

In 1977 the National Health Interview Survey 

included a supplement designed to obtain data 

on the prevalence of seven preventive heakh 

practices among the noninstitutionalized U.S. 

population aged 20 years and over. The quesaThis report was prepared by Charlotte A. Schoenborn, 

M.P.H., and Kathleen M. Danchik, Division of Analysis. 

tions on health practices, modified somewhat 

from those of the Alameda County study, 

included (1) average number of hours of sleep 

per night; (2) frequency of eating breakfast; 

(3) frequency of eating snacks; (4) physical 

activity level relative to one’s peers; (5) frequency and quantity of alcohol consumption; 

(6) smoking status (never smoked, former 

smoker, or current smoker) and amount smoked; 

and (7) body weight as compared with desirable 

body weight (weight for height). This report 

presents data on persons 20 years of age and 

over for these seven practices, by sex, race or 

ethnicity, age, income, and education. 

SLEEPING 

Data on sleeping practices are presented in 

table 1. Approximately two-thirds of the respondents reported getting an average of 7-8 

hours of sleep a night, with about 2 in 10 

reporting 6 hours of sleep or less. Nearly identical proportions of men and women reported 

sleeping 7-8 hours a night. Proportionately more 

men reported sleeping 6 hours or less, while 

proportionately more women reported sleeping 

9 hours or more. 

Slight differences in sleeping habits were 

found among white, black, and Hispanic respondents. About 68 percent of white respondents reported sleeping 7-8 hours a night, in 

contrast to about 61 percent of Hispanic respondents and 56 percent of black respondents. 

EATING BREAKFAST 

Estimates of breakfast-eating habits of the 

U.S. population are shown in table 2. A majority 

of persons (58.1 percent) reported eating breakfast every day, about 16 percent reported eating 
2 acwncedata 

Table1. Total population 20 years of age and over and parcent distribution of persons 20 years of age and over by averaga number of 

hours of sleep a night, according to selected characteristics: United States, 1977 

Total Hours of sleep 

Characteristic population 

20 years of 

Ige and overl Tota 12 6 or less 7 8 9 or more 

All persons 20 years of age and over .. .... 

— 

Sex

Male . .......................................... ...... ........... ........... 

Female ................................................................... 

Race or ethnicitv 

White .............................................. .............. ......... 

Black ........................................... ............... ............ 

Hispanic ...................................... ........................... 

Age

— 

20-34 years ............ ...................... .......... ..... .. ......... 

35-44 years ................................... ................ ......... 

45-54 years ................................................. ........... 

55-64 years .......................................... .................. 

65 years and over .................................. ................. 

Income 

Less than$5.000................................................... 

$58000.$9.999....................................................... $10,000.$14.999................................................... 

$15.000~24.999................................................... 

$25,000or more .................................................... 

Education of individual 

Less than 12 years ................................................. 

12 years ............ ..................................................... 

More than 12 years ................................................ 

lIncludes unknowns.


2wc]udes unkno~ hours of Sleep-


Number in Percent distribution 

thousands 

139,959 100.0 21.7 27.9 37.8 12.5 

65,798 100.0 23.3 29.8 35.8 11,1 

74,162 100.0 20.4 26.4 39.5 13.7 

108,055 100.0 20.5 29.4 38.2 11.9 

13,544 100.0 28.2 21.2 34.3 16.2 

6,192 100.0 24.5 19.5 41.3 14.7 

51,230 100.0 20.2 28.9 38.2 12.6 

23,106 100.0 21.9 31.2 37.7 9.2 

23,190 100.0 23.0 31.5 36.8 8.8 

20,166 100.0 22.8 25.4 38.6 13.3 

22,266 100.0 22.7 21.2 37.5 18.6 

18,020 100.0 27.0 20.4 35.2 17.3 

25,965 100.0 21.4 24.4 38.6 15.5 

26,564 100.0 21.4 28.8 38.9 10.9 

34,630 100.0 20.8 31.7 37.8 9.7 

21,679 100.0 19.3 33.6 38.0 9.2 

44,430 100.0 25.3 21.3 37.0 16.4 

50,957 100.0 20.8 29.0 38.7 11.5 

42,349 100.0 19.1 33.8 37.7 9.3 

breakfast sometimes, and about 26 percent said 

they never eat breakfast. There are almost no 

differences in this practice between men and 

women. A pattern emerges, however, with 

respect to age. The proportion of people eating 

breakfast every day increases steadily with 

advancing age, from about 42 percent for those 

20-34 years of age to about 86 percent for those 

65 years and over. 

There are also differences in breakfast-eating 

habits according to race or ethnicity. About 60 

percent of white respondents and about 56 percent of Hispanic respondents reported that they 

eat breakfast every ‘day, while ‘only 47 percen_t 

of black respondents reported regular breakfasteating habits. Approximately 26 percent of 

black respondents and about 23 percent of 

Hispanic respondents reported that they sometimes eat breakfast, in contrast to 14.3 percent 

of white respondents. About equal proportions 

of black and white persons reported that they 

never eat breakfast (27.8 percent and 25.9 

percent, respectively), compared with a smaller 

proportion of Hispanic persons (21.6 percent). 
achncedata 3 

People in the lower income categories are that they sometimes eat breakfast. remains 

relatively more likely to eat breakfast than those relatively constant across all incom,e groups. 

at the higher end of the income spectrum. Approximately 65 percent of those with incomes 

of less than $5,000 reported eating breakfast EATING SNACKS 

every day, while only about 53 percent of per- Table 3 shows that among American adults, 

sons with incomes of $15,000-$24,999 reported approximately 38 percent eat snacks every day, 

similar behavior. The proportion of persons eat- about 27 percent sometimes snack, and about 

ing breakfast every day rises slightly in the 35 percent never snack. The practice of eating 

highest income category, to approximately 57 between meals, like the practice of eating 

percent. The proportion of persons reporting breakfast, appears to be related to age. The perTable 2. Percent distribution of persons 20 years of age and over Table 3. Percent distribution of persons 20 years of age and over 

by frequency of eating breakfast, according to selected char- by frequency of sating snacks, according to selected characacteristics: United States, 1977 teristics: United States, 1977 

I 

Eats breakfast: Eats snacks I 

Characteristic Every SomeTotall Never dav times 

All persons 20 Percent distribution 

years of age years of a~


and over.., ...... . 100.( 58.1 15.9 26.1 and over ......... 100.0 38.0 27.4 34.7


— 

Sex — 

Sex 

15.8 

Female..., ... .. . .... .. .. ..... . 1 00.( 58.7 15.9 25.4 Female., ... . ... . .. ... .. . ... .. 100.0 36.3 28.9 34.8 

Race or ethnicity Race or ethnicity 

White . .. .. .... .. .. ... ... . ..... . 1 00.( 59.8 14.3 25.9 Whita ... .. .. .. .. .. .. ... . . ..... . 100.0 38.4 26.9 34.7 

Black .. . .. .... .. .. ... .. ... ... . .. 1 00.( 46.6 25.6 27.8 Black ... .. .. .. .. ... . ... .. .. ... . 100.0 37.0 29.1 34.0 

Hispanic . ... ... .. .. .. .. ..... .. 1 00.( 1 55.8 22.6 21.6 Hispanic ... . ... ... . ... . .. ... .. 100.0 34.2 30.6 35.1 

Male ............................ 100.{ 57.3

-1-

27.0 Male ....... .................... 100.0 40.1 25.4 34.4 

Age Age — 

20-34 years .. ... ... . .. .. .. .. . 100. 41.6 22.7 35.8 20-34 years .... .. . .. .. .. ... . 100.0 43.2 31.7 25.1 

35-44 years .. ... ... .. . ...... . 100. 49.3 18.3 32.4 35-44 years .... . . .... .. .. ... 100.0 40.5 29.1 30.4 

45-54 years .. .. .... ... . .... .. 100. 61.5 14.1 24.3 45-54 years . .. ... . ... .. . .... 100.0 36.6 26.4 37.1 

55-64 years .... .... ... . ..... . 100. 73.1 9.5 17.4 55-64 years ... .. . . .... . . .... 100.0 34.6 22.7 42.7 

65 years and over . . ... ... 100. 86.2 5.7 8.0 65 years and over . . ... .. . 100.0 28.3 21.1 50.5 

Income Incoma 

Less than $5,000 . . . .... . . 100. 64.9 14.8 20.3 Less than $5,000 .. . . ... . 100.0 33.9 25.3 40.8 

$5,000-$9,999 . .. . ... ... .. . 100. 59.6 15.3 25.1 $5,000-$9,999 .. ... .. . .... 100.0 37.2 27.6 35.3 

$10,000-$14,999 . ... . ... . 100.1 56.4 16.8 26.8 $10,000-$14,999 ... .. . .. 100.0 39.6 28.8 31.6 

$1 5,000-$24,999 . . ...... . 100. 53.3 17.2 29.5 $1 5,000-$24;999 . ... . .. . 100.0 40.7 28.0 31.2 

$25,000 or more . . .. ... .. . 100. 56.5 15.3 28.1 $25,000 or more ... ...- 100.0 38.6 26.7 34.7 

Education of Education of 

individual individual I 

Less than 12 years . ..... . 1 00.( 62.2 14.5 23.3 Less than 12 years .. .. .. . 100.0 35.8 24.9 39.3 

12 years . . ..... . ... .... . ... ... . 1 00.( 54.0 17.1 28.9 12 years .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .. ... . . 100.0 39.7 28.5 31.8 

More than 12 years . ..... 1 00.( 58.2 15.9 25.9 More than 12 years .. .. . 100.0 38.2 28.6 33.3 

1 Excludes unknown breakfast-eating habits. lExcludes unknown snacking habits. 

NOTE See table 1 for population. NOTE: See table 1 for population. 
4 achmncedata 

cent of persons reporting that they snack 

every day declines from about 43 percent of those 

aged 20-34 years to about 28 percent of those 

65 years of age and over. The proportion of 

people reporting that they sometimes eat 

snacks similarly declines–from approximately 3 

in 10 in the youngest group to about 2 in 10 

among those 65 years of age and over. Together, 

the data on breakfast eating and snacking 

indicate that regular eating habits (eating breakfast every day and avoiding snacks) are positively associated with age. 

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 

The physical activity measure used in the 

National Health Interview Survey (table 4) 

provides only a rough approximation of the 

level of physical activity in the adult population. 

Respondents were asked to rate their own level 

of physical activity relative to other persons their 

age: more active, about as active, or less active. 

About half of the respondents judged their own 

activity level to be about the same as that of 

their peers, with slightly less than 4 in 10 saying 

they are more active than others. Among women, 

54 percent indicated they are about as active as 

others their age; about 46 percent of men gave 

this response. Proportionately more men than 

women (42. 1 percent and 33.3 percent, respectively) reported that they are more active than 

their peers. The self-perceived level of physical 

activity exhibits a positive relationship to income. As income level increases, the percent 

of persons who indicated that they are more 

active than their peers increases, and the percent 

of persons indicating that they are less active 

decreases. 

ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION 

Estimates of the frequency and quantity of 

alcohol consumption are shown in table 5. Respondents were asked: “How often do you drink 

wine (b,eer, Iiquor)—never, occasionally, once or 

twice a week, or more than twice a week?” 

Separate questions were asked for each type of 

alcoholic beverage. The data in table 5 reflect 

the consumption frequency of the most frequently consumed beverage. Persons who stated 

that they drink two or three types of alcohol 

once or twice a week may be misclassified in this 

analysis. A person who drinks beer twice a week 

Table 4. Parcent distribution of persons 20 years of age and over 

by physical activity level relative to persons of same age, according to selected characteristics: United States, 1977 

Characteristic 

All persons 20 Percent distribution 

years of age 

and over .......... 100.0 37.2 50.5 12.3 

— 

Sex 

Male .. . ... .. ... .. ... .. .... . .. .. .. 100.0 42.1 46.2 11.7 

Female .. ... .. ... ... ..... .. .. ... 100.0 33,3 54.0 12.7 

Race or ethnicity 

White .. .... . ... .. .. ... .. ... .. .. . 100.0 38.6 49.9 11.5 

Black . ..... .. .. ..... ... . .... . .. . 100.0 30.2 53.4 16.4 

Hispanic . ... . .... ... . .. .. .. ... . 100.0 33.8 51.1 15.2 

Age

— 

20-34 years . ... .. ... ... .. .. .. 100.0 33.6 56.2 10.2 

35-44 years . ..... . .. .... . ... . 100.0 38.2 51.5 10.2 

45-54 years, .... . .. ... .. . .... 100.0 35.6 52.4 12.0 

55-64 years . ... .. .. .... .. ... . 100.0 37.0 45.9 17.1 

65 years and over .... .. . .. 100.0 44.7 40.1 15.2 

Income 

Less than $5,000 . . .. ... .. 100.0 31.1 47.5 21.5 

$5,000-$9,999 .. . ... ... ... . 100.0 34.6 50.4 15.0 

$10,000-$14,999 . ..... ... 100.0 36.8 52.9 10.3 

$1 5,000-$24,999 . .... ... . 100.0 38.4 52.8 8.9 

$25,000 or more . ..... . .. 100.0 44.9 47.3 7.7 

Education of 

individual 

Less than 12 years ... .. .. . 100.0 32.2 51.4 16.5 

12 years .. .. .. .... . .. .... .... . . 100.0 36.5 52.7 10.8 

More than 12 years . . ... . 100.0 43.4 47.2 9.4 

1 Excludes unknown physical activity level. 

NOTE: See table 1 for population. 

and wine once a week, for example, is classified 

here as drinking “once or twice a week,” while 

in fact he drinks three times a week. The magnitude of the potential error is small, however, 

with a maximum possible misclassification of 

only about 2V2 percent of the adults who drink 

alcohol. 

The data on quantity are based on responses 

to the questions: “When you drink wine (beer, 

liquor), how many drinks do you have at one 

sitting?” and “On any one occasion during the 
achiancedata 5 

Table 5. Percent distribution of persons 20 years of age and over by frequency of alcohol consumption and percent of persons who drink 

alcohol who consumed 5 or more drinks at one sitting in past year, according to selected characteristics: United States, 1977 

Alcohol consumption 

3 or 5 or more Characteristic lor2 more drinks 

Tota 11 Never Occasionally times times at one 1 a week a week sitting 

All persons 20 years of age and over ............ 

— 

Sex

Maie ...................................... ....... ......................... ....... 

Female ....................................................... .................. 

Race or ethnicity 

White ................................................................ ........... 

Black ............................................................... ............ 

Hspanic ................................. ...................................... 

Age 

20-34 years .. ................................................................ 

3544 years .......... ................ ...... .................................. 

45-54 years ....................... ....................... .................... 

55-64 years ....................... ........................................... 

65 years and over ...................... ...... ....... ..................... . 

Income 

Less than $5.000 .. ....................................................... 

$5.000.$9#999 ............................................................. 

$10,000-$1 4.999 ..... ........................ ........................... . 

$1 5.000.$24.999 ................................................. ........ 

$25,000 or mre ..................... ...................... ............... 

Education of individual 

Less than 12 ymrs ................................ ....................... 

12 years ........l ..................... ..... ............... ..................... 

More than 12 years .................................................... .. 

1Exc]udes alcohol consumption. 

NOTE See table 1 for population. 

Percent of 

Percent distribution persons who 

drink alcohol 

100.0 28.6 41.9 15.5 14.0 29.4 a 

100.0 21.5 35.9 20.2 22.5 43.1 

100.0 34.2 46.7 11.8 7.3 18.5 

100.0 26.2 42.7 15.9 15.2 30.3 

100.0 34.1 40.2 15.2 10.5 26.4 

100.0 32.1 43.2 15.3 9.4 32.2 

100.0 18.9 47.3 19.5 14.3 43.1 

100.0 24.5 43.5 17.3 14.7 33.7 

100.0 27.3 40.7 14.8 17.2 26.7 

100.0 36.0 37.7 12.6 13.6 18.4 

100.0 48.6 33.3 8.2 9.9 7.2 

100.0 46.2 35.0 10.3 8.5 20.4 

100.0 34.3 40.9 13.6 11.2 26.2 

100.0 26.4 44.6 16.1 12.9 32.2 

100.0 21.1 45.5 17.1 16.3 33.4 

100.0 14.9 42.5 20.7 21.9 36.8 

100.0 42.1 35.2 12.0 10.7 22.1 

100.0 25.7 45.5 15.6 13.2 31.1 

100.0 17.0 45.0 19.2 18.8 35.4 

past 12 months, did you have five or more 

drinks of wine, beer, or liquor?” The data on 

quantity’ reflect the proportion of persons who 

had five or more drinks at any one sitting during 

the past 12 months. No distinction can be made 

between the habitual heavy drinker and the 

occasional heavy drinker. 

Approximately 3 in 10 adults reported that 

the y never drink any type of alcoholic beverage, 

and about 4 in 10 reported drinking only occasionally. About 16 percent of American adults 

said they drink wine, beer, or Iiquor an average 

of once or twice a week, and the remaining 14 

percent drink alcohol an average of three or 

more times a week. Among respondents who 

drink alcohol, about 3 in 10 indicated that they 

had consumed five or more drinks at a sitting 

at least once during the past 12 months. 

Men and women exhibit different patterns 

of alcohol consumption. A greater proportion of 
6 acklncedata 

women reported that they never drink (34.2 

percent compared with 21.5 percent of men) or 

only drink occasionally (46.7 percent compared 

with 35.9 percent of men). While less than 2 in 

10 women reported that they drink at least once 

a week on a regular basis, more than 4 in 10 men 

reported this behavior. Similarly, among men 

and women who reported drinking alcohol, 43.1 

percent of men and 18.5 percent of women 

reported having five or more drinks at least once 

during the past year. 

Drinking habits are clearly related to age, 

income, and education. Both frequency and 

quantity of alcohol consumption decrease with 

advancing age and increase with income and 

education. 

Among adults 20-34 years of age, 34 percent 

reported drinking at least once a week. In contrast, only about 18 percent of persons 65 years 

and over reported drinking this often. Similarly, 

the percent of alcohol drinkers who reported 

having had five or more drinks “at one sitting 

declines steadily from about 43 percent in the 

youngest age group to about 7 percent among 

the oldest respondents. 

Persons with higher incomes drink more 

than persons with lower incomes. The percent of 

persons who reported drinking three or more 

times a week increases from 8.5 percent among 

those with incomes of less than $5,000 a year to 

about 22 percent among those with incomes of 

$25,000 or more. The proportion of persons 

drinking once or twice a week increases from 

about 1 in 10 to about 2 in 10 between the 

lowest and the highest income groups. In the 

lowest income category, about 20 percent of 

adults who drink alcohol reported having had 

five or more drinks at one sitting, while about 

37 percent of those in the highest income group 

reported this behavior. 

Persons with higher levels of education 

reported more frequent alcohol consumption 

than did persons with less education. While 

38 percent of respondents having more than 

12 years of education reported drinking at 

least once a week, only 29 percent of those with 

12 years of education and less than 23 percent 

of ihose with under 12 years of education reported drinking this often. About 42 percent of 

respondents having less than 12 years of education reported that they never drink alcohol, 

while only 17 percent of persons with more than 

12 years of education reported abstaining. 

Quantity of alcohol consumption also increases 

with education. The proportion of alcohol 

drinkers who reported consuming five or more 

drinks at one sitting ranges from 22 percent of 

those with less than 12 years of education to 

about 35 percent of those with more than 12 

years of education. 

SMOKING 

Table 6 provides information on the smoking practices of the U.S. adult population in ‘ 

1977. At the time that these data were collected, about 36 percent of aduIts aged 20 years 

and over currently smoked cigarettes, about 20 

percent had smoked at least 100 cigarettes in 

their lifetimes but were not currently smoking 

(former smokers), and about 44 percent had 

never smoked. Men were more likely to currently be smoking than were women (40.9 

percent and 32.1 percent, respectively). They 

were also more likely to have quit. Adjusting for 

differences in the proportions of men and 

women who had ever smoked shows that about 

4 in 10 male smokers had quit, while only about 

3 in 10 female smokers had quit. 

More recent data on smoking, collected in 

1978 and 1979, are currently available in The 

Health Consequences of Smoking for Women, 

A Report of the Surgeon General, 3 an earlier 

Advance Data report,A and Health, United 

States, 1979.5 Additional 1979 data will be 

available in Health, United States, 1980.6 

BODY WEIGHT 

The finaJ health measure included in the 

1977 National Health Interview Survey was 

body weight as compared with desirable body 

weight. Respondents were asked to estimate 

their height and weight.b This ratio was compared with a standard table of desirable weights 

prepared by the Metropolitan Life Insurance 

Company.8 People were classified according to 

how closely their height-weight ratio approximated the Metropolitan Life standard: 10 percent or more below desirable body weight; 

5-9.9 percent below; plus or minus 4.9 percent; 

5-9.9 percent above; 10-19.9 percent above; 

b For a discussion of the validity and reliability of 

self-reported height and weight data, see reference 7. 
acimncedata 7 

Table 6. Percent distribution of persons 20 years of age and over by smoking status and percent distribution of current smokers by 

number of cigarettes smoked daily, according to selected characteristics: United States. .—1977 

Smoking status Number of cigarettes smokad daily 

Characteristic II 

II I

I I 

Never Former Current Totall smoked smoker smoker 

All persons 20 years of age and over .... 

Male ............................................................. 

Fernale . ..... ................................................... 

Race or ethnicity 

White ........................................................... 

Black .......................... ........ ......................... 

His~nic . ...................................................... 

Aqe 

20-34 years ....................................... ....... .... 

35-44 years ..... .............. ............................... 

45-54 years ............. ..................................... 

55-64 years .................................................. 

65 years and over ......................................... 

income 

Less than $5,000 ......................................... 

s#om.$9.999 ............................................. 

$10,000-$1 4,999 ......................................... 

$1 5.000.$24.999 .................................. ....... 

$25,000 or more ............. ............................. 

Education of individual 

Less tha 12 years ......................................... 

12 yearn ....................................................... 

More than 12 years ...................................... 

lExcludes unknown smoking status. 

2Excludes unknown amount smoked. 

NOTE: See table 1 for population. 

Percent distributions 

100.0 43.9 20.1 36.0 1Oo.c 30.3 43.2 12.8 13.7 

100.0 30.9 28.2 40.9 100.0 24.4 42.3 15.1 18.2 

100.0 54.4 13.5 32.1 1Oo.c 36.2 44.2 10.5 9.1 

100.0 43.1 21.7 35.2 100.0 25.2 45.1 14.0 15.8 

1OQ.O 45.0 13.0 42.0 100.0 53.8 36.2 7.3 2.7 

100.0 ~ 54.1 12.3 33.5 100.0 59.1 27.0 4.9 8.7 

100.0 45.3 14.6 40.1 100.0 33.3 45.1 11.7 9.9 

100.0 37.1 19.5 43.4 100.0 23.8 42.7 15.4 18.0 

100.0 36.8 23.4 39.8 100.0 26.3 40.7 13.7 19.3 

100.0 40.3 25.2 34.5 100.0 29.0 44.1 12.4 14.5 

100.0 57.8 24.8 17.4 100.0 42.1 39.6 10.5 7.8 

100.0 50.0 16.4 33.5 100.0 39.3 40.2 9.5 11.0 

100.0 43.6 18.6 37.8 100.0 35.0 39.2 11.6 14.1 

100.0 42.2 19.3 38.4 100.0 26.3 47.1 14.3 12.2 

100.0 41.1 21.6 37.3 100.0 26.2 44.9 14.2 14.6 

100.0 40.9 25.3 33.9 100.0 26.8 43.9 12.7 16.6 

100.0 43.1 19.2 37.6 100.0 31.1 43.0 11.0 14.2 

100.0 41.7 19.0 39.3 100.0 27.9 45.0 13.3 13.8 

100.0 47.2 22.1 30.6 100.0 32.8 40.8 13.5 12.9 

20-29.9 percent above; and 30 percent or more 

above. The distribution is shown in table 7. 

Only about 24 percent of the adults were 

found to be within 5 percent of their desirabIe 

body weight using this standard, with about 18 

percent below and 58 percent above the optimal 

range. Almost 15 percent of the adult population 

is 30 percent or more overweight using the 

Metropolitan Life standard. 

Approximately equal proportions of men 

and women are within 5 percent of their optimal 

weight (21. 6 percent and 24.9 percent, respectively). There are sex differences, however, in 

some of the other weight categories. Women 

are more likely to be underweight than men are 

(23.1 percent and 12.0 percent, respectively), 

and men are more likely to be 5-29.9 percent 

overweight (about 55 percent of men versus 

about 35 percent of women). A larger proportion of women than men, however, faH in the 

highest weight category, 30 percent or more 

overweight. About 17 percent of women are in 

this category, in contrast to about 12 percent of 

men. OveraIl, about 69 percent of men and 
8 acfwlncedata 

Table 7. Percent distribution of persons 20 years of age and over by body weight,l according to selected characteristics: 

United States, 1977 

I I 

Plus or 30 

10 percent 5-9.9 minus 5-9.9 10-19.9 20-29.9 percent or more percent 4.9 per- percent percent percent or more Characteristic Totalz below below cent of above above above above 

All persons 20 years 

of age and ovar ...... 

— 

Sex

Male .................................. 

Female .............................. 

Race or athnicity 

White ............................... . 

Black .................... ............. 

Hispanic ............................ 

Age

. 

20-34 years ....................... 

35-44 years ..... .................. 

45-54 years ....................... 

55-64 yaars ....................... 

65 years and over .............. 

Income 

Less than $5,000 ............. . 

:!5,000-$9,999 ................ .. 

$10,000-$14,999 .............. 

$1 5,000-$24,999 ............ .. 

$25,000 Or more ............... 

Education of 

individual 

Less than 12 years . ............ 

12 years ............................. 

More than 12 years . ......... .. 

desirable desirable desirable desirable desirable desirable desirable 

weight weight weight weight weight weight weight 11 1 I 

Percent distribution 

100.0 9.1 9.1 23.5 12.5 20.2 11.1 14.5 

100.0 5.2 6.8 21.6 16.3 24.4 14.0 11.7 

100.0 12.2 10.9 24.9 9.5 16.9 8.9 16.7 

100.0 9.4 9.4 24.3 12.8 20.2 11.0 13.1 

100.0 6.0 6.2 20.1 9.7 20.1 13.0 25.0 

100.0 5.8 8.6 19.0 11.6 23.2 13.0 18.8 

100.0 13.0 12.8 27.6 12.4 16.6 7.6 10.0 

100.0 6.8 8.5 23.2 13.2 21.4 11.8 15.0 

100.0 5.1 6.4 20.8 13.3 23.5 13.4 17.5 

100.0 5.3 6.4 19.6 12.3 22.1 14.8 19.6 

100.0 10.2 6.4 20.5 11.4 22.2 12.8 16.4 

100.0 11.5 8.8 20.5 9.8 18.9 11.4 19.2 

100.0 9.2 9.0 22.9 11.5 19.7 11.1 16.5 

100.0 9.0 8.3 23.1 12.8 21.2 11.0 14.5 

100.0 8.0 9.7 24.4 13.5 20.3 11.3 12.6 

100.0 8.9 10.3 26.0 14.0 20.5 10.7 9.5 

100.0 7.8 6.5 18.5 11.0 21.1 14.0 21.0 

100.0 9.3 9.2 24.4 12.2 20.6 10.7 13.5 

100.0 10.3 11.5 27.6 14.4 18.7 8.7 8.8 

lDe~u~b]~ weight modified from 1960 Metropolitan Life Insurance Comuarw data. 

2Exclu&s ~nkiown height or weight. 

NOTE: See table 1 for population. 

about 58 percent of women are in the weight 

categories ;dentified as “good” by the Alam;da 

County study.l 

Desirable weight is inversely related to age in 

this population. With advancing age, there is a 

small but steady decline in the proportion of 

persons reporting optimal weight. About 28 percent of persons aged 20-34, compared with 

about 21 percent of those 65 years and over, 

reported height-weight ratios within 5 percent of 

th~ Metropolitan L;fe standard. Desirable weight 

is positively related to both income and education. As these increase, the proportion of 

persons in the optimal weight category (plus or 

minus 4.9 percent of desirable weight) increases, 

and the proportion of persons in the extreme 

overweight category (3 O percent or more) decreases. 
ackincedata 9 

Black persons are overrepresented in the 

most extreme weight category. About one-quarter of aU black persons are 30 percent or more 

overweight, compared with about 13 percent of 

white persons and about 19 percent of the 

Hispanic group. Racial and ethnic differences in 

the other weight categories are minimal. 

SUMMARY 

This report has presented estimates of the 

prevalence of seven health practices pertaining 

to hours of sleep, eating breakfast, eating snacks, 

physical activity, alcohol consumption, smoking, 

and weight. In future publications from the 

National Center for Health Statistics, interrelationships found among these practices will 

be discussed in more detail and examined in 

relation to physical health status. The data 

presented here will be further examined in a 

Series 10 report in the Vital and Health Statzitics 

senes.g A comparison of the National Health 

Interview Survey findings with those of the 

Alameda County study is planned. 

The health practices supplement to the 

National Health Interview Survey was designed 

to provide national estimates of the health 

habits found to be important in Alameda 

County so that their relationship to health status 

could be examined. The measures used were 

only rough approximations of those employed 

in the original Human Population Laboratory 

study. The National Center for Health Statistics 

is currently conducting a national telephone 

survey desi~ed to include some of the features 

of the Alameda County study. Analysis of these 

data will shed light on the issue of the generalizability of the Alameda County findings on the 

relationship between health practices and 

physical health status. 

REFERENCES 

1Belloc, N. B., and Breslow, L.: Relationship of 

physical heaIth status and health practices. Prev. Med. 

1(3) :409-421, 1972. 

2BresIow, L., md Enstrom, J. E.: persistence of 

health habits and their relationship to mortality. Prev. 

Med. 9:469-483, 1980. 

3Department of Health, Education, and Welfare: 

The Health Co?zsequences of Smoking for Women, A 

Report of the Surgeon General, 1980. 

4National Center for Health Statistics: Changes in 

cigarette smoking and current smoking practices among 

adults, United States, 1978, by A. J. Moss. Advance Data 

From Vital and Health Statistics, No. 52. DHEW Pub. 

No. (PHS) 79-1250. Public Health Service. Hyattsville, 

Md. Sept. 19, 1979. 

5National Center for Health Statistics: Health, 

United States, 1979. DHEW Pub. No. (PHS) 80-1232. 

Public Health Sewice. Washington. U.S. Government 

Printing Office, 1980. 

6NationaI Center for Health Statistics: Health, 

United States, 1980. DHHS Pub. No. (PHS) 81-1232. 

Public Health Service, DHHS, Hyattsville, Md. In preparation. 

7The Rand Corporation: Conceptualization and 

Measurement of Health Habits for Adults in the Health 

Insurance Study: Vol. II, Overweight, by A. L. Stewart, 

R. H. Brook, and R. L. Kane. R-2374/2-HEW. Santa 

Monica, Calif. The Rand Corporation. In press. 

8Metropolita.n Life Insurance Company: Overweight, 

its prevention and significance. Staz%tical Bulletin of the 

Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, 1960. 

‘National Center for Health Statistics: Lifestyle and 

health of U.S. adults, 1977, by G. S. Bonham. Vital and 

Health Statistics. Series 10. Public Health Service, DHHS, 

Hyattsville, Md. To be published. 
10 aciwlncedata 

TECHNICAL NOTES 

Data presented in this report were obtained 

from household interviews of the National 

Health Interview Survey. These interviews were 

conducted among a probability sample of the 

civilian noninstitutionalized population of the 

United States. During 1977, approximately 

111,000 persons living in about 41,000 households were included in the sample. The total 

noninterview rate for the National Health 

Interview Survey was about 3.3 percent, including 1.9 percent due to respondent refusal 

and 1.4 percent due to failure to find an eligible 

respondent at home after repeated calls. 

Questions concerning health practices were 

asked of a one-third sub sample of ‘all persons 20 

years of age and over, or approximately 23,000 

persons. Self-reporting was generally required 

for these questions, but proxy responses were 

accepted when subsample persons were physically or mentally incapable of answering the 

questions for themselves. The noninterview rate 

for the subsample was about 9.4 percent. In 

addition, individual item nonresponse ranged 

from about 0.2 to 1.7 percent. Persons with 

unknown characteristics are excluded from the 

analysis. 

Estimates for the white and black populations, shown in table 1, are based on selfTable 1. Standard errors, expressed in percentage points, of 

estimated percents 

Baseof Estimated percent 

percent 

in 2 or 5 or 10or 20 or 50 thousands 98 95 90 80 

50 ................ 5.0 7.8 10.7 14.3 17.9 

70. ............... 4.2 6.6 9.1 12.1 15.1 

100 .............. 3.5 5,5 7.6 10.1 12.7 

300 .............. 2.0 3.2 4.4 5.9 7.3 

500 .............. 1.6 2.5 3.4 4.5 5.7 

700 .............. 1.3 2.1 2.9 3.8 4.8 

1,000 ........... 1.1 1.7 2.4 3.2 4.0 

5,000 ........... 0.5 0.8 1.1 1.4 1.8 

10,000 ......... 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.3 

20,000 ......... 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.7 0.9 

30,000 ......... 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.6 0.7 

50,000 ......... 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.6 

100,000 ....... 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.4 

reported racial identifications and therefore are 

not identical to official U.S. Census estimates 

for the same period, which are based primarily 

on interviewer observation. Hispanic classification is also based on self-reporting. The white, 

black, and Hispanic categories are mutually 

exclusive. For detailed definitions of other 

sociodemographic terms used here, see appendix 

II in most Series 10 reports in the Vital and 

Health Statistics series. 

Since the estimates shown in this report are 

based on a sample of the population rather than 

on the entire population, they are subject to 

sampling error. Standard errors appropriate for 

estimated percentages of persons are shown in 

table I. These standard errors may be somewhat 

underestimated for ‘the Hispanic population. 

Information on vital statistics for Hispanic 

persons does not currently exist, and thus there 

are no benchmark population estimates that can 

be used to adjust the sample weights for this 

ethnic category. 

In this report, terms such as “similar” and 

“the same” mean that no statistical significance 

exists between the statistics being compared. 

Terms relating to differences (“greater,” “less,” 

etc. ) indicate that differences are statisticzdly 

significant. The t-test with a critical value of 

1.96 (0.05 level of significance) was used to test 

all comparisons that are discussed. Lack of 

comment regarding the difference between 

any two statistics does not mean the difference 

was tested and found to be not significant. 

To better understand the limitations of the 

estimates presented in this report, data users are 

encouraged to familiarize themselves with the 

survey design, the methods used in estimation, 

and the general qualifications of the data, which 

are described in appendix I of the 1977 Current 

Estimates report (Series 10, No. 126, in the 

Vital and Health Statistics series). Definitions of 

certain terms used in this report but not specifically addressed in this section and the questionnaire and flashcards used during 1977 appear in 

appendixes II and 111 of that report. 
ackmedm	 11


—


Recent Issues of Advance Data From Vital and Health Statistics 

No. 63. Office Vkits for Male Genitouxinary Condi- No. 61. Selected Demographic Characteristics of Teentions: National Ambulatory Medical Care age Wives and Mothers (Issued: September 

Survey, United States, 1977-78 (Issued 26, 1980) 

November 3, 1980) 

No. 60.1978 Summary: National Ambulatory Medical 

Care Survey (Issued: April 23, 1980) 

No. 62. Expected Principal Source of Payment for 

Hospital Discharges: United States, 1977 No. 59. Trends in Breast Feeding (Issued: March 

(Issued: October 31, 1980) 28, 1980) 

A complete list of Adva@ce Data From Vital and Health Statistics is available from the Scientific and Technical 

I Information Branch.