Health behaviors of adults: United States, 1999-2001

Abstract

This report presents prevalence estimates for key indicators of alcohol use, cigarette smoking, leisure-time physical activity, and body weight status among U.S. adults, using data from the 1999-2001 National Health Interview Surveys (NHIS). The NHIS is conducted annually by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. Estimates are shown for several sociodemographic subgroups for both sexes combined and for men and women separately. Subgroups are compared in terms of prevalence of healthy and unhealthy behaviors. Methods Data for the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population were collected using computer-assisted personal interviews (CAPI). Questions on health behaviors were asked in the Sample Adult component of the basic core questionnaire. All data were self-reported. This report is based on a total of 96,501 completed interviews with sample adults aged 18 years and over, representing an overall sample adult response rate of 71.8% for the 3 years combined. Statistics were age adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population. Results Overall, 6 in 10 U.S. adults were current drinkers in 1999-2001; about 1 in 4 adults (23.1%) were lifetime abstainers. About 1 in 4 adults (23.1%) were current smokers and over one-half of adults (54.3%) had never smoked cigarettes. About 6 in 10 adults engaged in at least some leisure-time physical activity with about 3 in 10 regularly engaging in such activities. About 6 in 10 adults were overweight or obese (BMI > or = 25), with 4 in 10 adults having a healthy weight.