International Health and Behaviour Survey

Behaviours such as physical exercise, smoking and dietary choice are important determinants of health and disease risk. The International Health and Behaviour Survey (IHBS) was a questionnaire survey of health-related behaviour, risk awareness and associated attitudes that has been carried out with university students worldwide. The purpose was to assess the prevalence of health behaviours, attitudes and wellbeing using a standardized measure that has been translated into 18 languages, ensuring that direct comparisons can be made between similar groups of young adults in different countries and cultures. Data were collected in 1999-2001 from 19,674 students from 24 countries.

Data analysis has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and by Cancer Research UK.

Principal Investigators: Professor Andrew Steptoe and Professor Jane Wardle 

Contact: Professor Andrew Steptoe (a.steptoe@ucl.ac.uk)

Collaborators: Researchers across 23 different countries