What is a `healthy' lifestyle? Which is more significant: the social circumstances in which people live, or lifestyle habits such as exercise or smoking?
Health and Lifestyles is the first description of a large and representative survey of the British population asking just those questions. It examines the findings, and considers issues such as measured fitness, declared health, psychological status, life circumstances, health-related behaviour, attitudes and beliefs. Providing firm evidence of the importance of social circumstances and patterns of health-related behaviour, Health and Lifestyles is an important contribution to current debate, revealing the levels of inequality in health in Britain today.

Mildred Blaxter

1. Introduction 2. The health and lifestyle survey 3. What is health? 4. The measurement of health 5. Social circumstances and health 6. Patterns of behaviour 7. Attitudes and behaviour 8. Behaviour and health 9. Circumstances behaviour and health 10. Conclusions and policy implications Appendix