ABSTRACT
Health and disease change with the times. At the turn of the century, illhealth patterns were determined largely by infectious diseases. Today, in western industrialised countries, they are distinguished mainly by the high incidence of chronic degenerative diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases and cancers. The social patterns of health related behaviours also change over time. In the United Kingdom, the rise and fall in smoking prevalence over the last hundred years, and a change in the nation’s diet, are classic examples. In the last two decades, there has been an increasing recognition by policy makers that lifestyle and health are inextricably linked, and that in order to bring about improved prospects for health it is necessary to ameliorate the damaging effects of unhealthy lifestyles.
