Gesundheitsverhalten und Änderungen im Gesundheitsverhalten - welche Relevanz haben Bildung und Schicht?

Background: Individual health behaviour counts as an important factor for health status. A healthier lifestyle substantially contributes to better health. People burdened with lower health and with lower socio-economic status could benefit notably. So far it is not known exhaustively to what extent education and social status contribute to changes in health behaviour and which motifs play a decisive role. Methods: Based on cross-sectional data from the seventh wave of the Gesundheitsmonitor, Bertelsmann Foundation, (n=1436), the influence of social status and education on health behaviour and changes in behaviour was analysed. Results: Specific health behaviour correlates with level of education and socio-economic status. In contrast, regarding health behaviour changes in the last 12 months prior to survey, no social class- or education-specific effect was found. Age, health status as well as fears and wishes in relation to health seem to be important causalities for changes of health-related behaviour. Conclusion: Interventions to foster healthy life-styles should include class differences in specific health-related behaviour and personal reasons for behavioural changes.