Lifestyle affects peoples' health and may cause a wide range of lifestyle-related diseases.

Most European countries aim to raise awareness about the importance of a healthy lifestyle and thus attempt to decrease the burden of lifestyle-related illnesses at the population level. In order to provide an evidence base for eff ective health policy measures, research on the relationship between lifestyle and health as well as consequences of an unhealthy lifestyle has been initiated by the European Commission.The Working Party on Information on Lifestyle and Specific Subpopulations has been funded by the Directorate General Health and Consumer Protection of the European Commission within the Public Health Programme 2003-2008. This Working Party was initiated in 2004 as a European network to coordinate research activities on lifestyle and other health determinants in the fi eld of health information at European level. It has since provided a platform for scientific exchange and has contributed to the development of the European Health Monitoring System.

This book is an effort to present achievements and outcomes on lifestyle-related health information in the European Community and thus guide future work in the area of lifestyle and specific subpopulations. The book outlines the strategic framework of the group, presents policy recommendations on the basis of project outcomes and identifies priority issues for political action in the area of lifestyle and specifi c subpopulations.

Autorenporträt

Prof. Dr. med. Dr. med. dent. Wihelm Kirch, Direktor des Instituts für Klinische Pharmakologie an der Medizinischen Fakultät der Technischen Universität Dresden, ist seit 2005 Vorsitzender der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Klinische Pharmakologie und Therapie (DGKliPha), Vorsitzender des Deutschen Verbandes für Gesundheitswissenschaften und Public Health (DVGPH). Seit 2009 ist Prof. Kirch Präsident der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Experimentelle und Klinische Pharmakologie und Tox