Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2012, 9 945 2. Methods 2.1. Sample This is a cross-sectional study conducted at all the 18 communities of the municipality of Tripoli, Prefecture of Arcadia, Central Peloponnesus, Greece, between January 2001 and December 2003. The study was ethically and methodologically approved by The Research Committee of the Technological and Educational Institute of Athens. As a first step to collect our sample, a letter was sent to local newspapers and official services that hold catalogues of registered citizens. The letter described both study aims and measurement information, assuring candidates for the confidentiality of records. After that, road mapping of the whole region was conducted and home visits were performed by health professionals. No eligibility criteria were used. In case, of absence a second visit was arranged. Each participant gave his/her informed consent before the interviews. The final sample consisted of 1,519 participants out of a population of 4,100 citizens (37.05%), according to 2001 census. 2.2. Measurements 2.2.1. Dependent Variable SRH was evaluated with the following question: “In general, you would describe your health as…”. There were five possible answers: “excellent”, “very good”, “good”, “fair”, “poor”. For the analysis we used three categories: “very good” (excellent/very good), “good” (good) and “poor” (fair/poor). “Poor” SRH served as the reference category in the analyses. 2.2.2. Independent Variables Sociodemographical variables: gender, age (grouped in three categories: ≤45, 46–65, ≥65 years old), education level (categories: primary ≤6 years, secondary 7–12 and tertiary level >12 years of education). Health status was assessed with the following open question: “Do you currently suffer from a condition needing regular medical treatment?”. Individuals were asked to list their health problems and two doctors independently classified their answers as valid or not. Classification was the following: healthy (or disease free), one disease needing regular medication and finally co morbidity was defined as the presence of two or more diseases needing regular medication. Each individual had his/her height and weight measured at the site of first encounter. All weighing machines were of the same brand name and model. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated as (Kg/m2), according to World Health Organization recommendations, and comprised of three categories for both men and women: normal (<25 kg/m2), overweight (25–29.9 kg/m2) and obese (≥30 kg/m2). Lifestyle variables included smoking, exercise, diet, sleep and religiosity. Smoking was classified as no or yes. Exercise was grouped as no or yes regular exercise, with people reporting no planned walking allocated in the no group, while any other planned exercise, including walking, was considered eligible for the yes group. This approach of “planned exercise” was selected in order to avoid the putative bias of daily physical activity related to rural living (e.g., agricultural tasks, etc.). Diet was evaluated with six questions, each scored as 1 or 0 (Mediterranean diet guidelines were used