Two national surveys of activity,fitness and health: the Allied Dunbar National Fitness Survey and the Welsh Heart Health Survey

摘要

This chapter presents information on two national surveys of activity,fitness and health: the Allied Dunbar National Fitness Survey and theWelsh Heart Health Survey. The former is ongoing, with data collectioncompleted in November 1990, and the production of a report planned forearly 1992. The latter was completed in 1985 under the auspices ofHeartbeat Wales, a community-based heart disease prevention pro-gramme. While both are surveys of activity, fitness and health, they aredifferent in many respects (e.g. aims and objectives, fieldwork procedures,test ingredients and methodology). The Allied Dunbar Fitness Survey is alarge-scale descriptive survey specifically set up to address the measure-ment of physical activity patterns and fitness in a random sample of theadult population of England. In contrast, the major aim of the Welsh HeartHealth Survey was that of intervention, attempting to change attitudeswith a view to decreasing the incidence of coronary heart disease in thepopulation of Wales.