A study assessing the prevalence of non-communicable diseases and core risk factors, addressing behavioural and biological risk factors together.
Population health cannot be explained by the proportion of diagnosed diseases alone.
In the National Household Health Survey, behavioural risk factors were addressed in the same research frame as biological risk factors such as hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia and diabetes. The study was carried out at a scale of 8,650 households.
Assessing behaviours such as tobacco use, physical activity and nutrition together with health indicators moves the question from "how many people?" towards "which risks concentrate in which groups?".
What it taught us
Measuring a health outcome matters. Understanding the behaviour that produces it is worth more.
World Health Organization
Sample size: 15,430 households
