ABSTRACT
The scientific basis of health-promotion efforts is built on the innumerable data bases which link personal behaviors to risks of disease and disease itself. Best developed are the data bases concerning cardiovascular disease risk factors and actual cardiovascular disease. Also strong are those data pertaining to health decline resulting from excess alcohol and abuse of other substances. The interactions of personal health behavior and other diseases are also clear with reference to lung disease and smoking, while other forms of cancer and other chronic disease bear less clear relationships to personal health-related behaviors. Much of this scientific base derives from epidemiologic study. Many aspects have also received support from molecular, animal model, and human-based basic research.
