Each of us is responsible for the protection of our own health, and the best protection is achieved by living a healthy lifestyle.
A healthy lifestyle means following five behaviours – each of which is under our own personal control:
- Not Smoking - This one is clear…NONE whatever!
- Regular Physical Exercise - ½ an hour ofwalking, or the equivalent, on five days each week.
- A Low Body Weight - Best evaluated as a BMI(body mass index). A pharmacist can measure this for you
- Healthy Diet - Lots of fruit and vegetables.
- A Low Alcohol Consumption - drinking withinthe limits, with at least one alcohol-free day each week,
and finally………
We are enormously grateful to the two and a half thousand Caerphilly men upon whom this report is based. They gave much of their time, they shared information with us about themselves and their lifestyle, they cooperated in a host of medical tests every five years and they allowed us unrestricted access to their medical records.
We are also grateful to the family doctors in the area, the members of the Local Health Authorities and the Public Health Department for their help and support throughout the work.
Very special thanks are due to the management and the staff of the former Caerphilly District Miners’ Hospital, who, for many years, provided accommodation and support for the work.
Professor Peter Elwood OBE, DSc, MD, FRCP Professor John Gallacher PhD, FFPHM Professor Tony Bayer MD, FRCP Luke Heslop BSc, MPH
Cochrane Institute of Primary Care and Public Health, Cardiff University, UK
