van der Wilk E A, Jansen J
Centre for Public Health Forecasting, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, RIVM/cVTV pb 54, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
Public Health. 2005 Jan;119(1):55-66. doi: 10.1016/j.puhe.2004.04.008.
What has become of lifestyle differences in a united Europe, where member states become more and more similar on aspects such as welfare systems and population dynamics? In this paper, we try to answer the question whether the gap in lifestyle-related risk factors in Europe has narrowed over the past 30-40 years.
Smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, obesity and food consumption all have an impact on cancer, cardiovascular disease and other non-communicable diseases. Databases of Eurostat, OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and the World Health Organisation were screened for data on lifestyle-related risk factors in the European Union, and a literature search was performed for studies that collected international comparable data about the selected factors.
The gap in European lifestyle has narrowed over the past 30-40 years for smoking (women), alcohol consumption and total fat intake. For fruit and vegetable consumption, convergence is not occurring. For some risk factors, such as smoking and obesity, intranational differences surpass the international differences.
The results support the notion of convergent lifestyles among Europeans over time. We also found that there is a serious lack of reliable data on lifestyle-related risk factors that are suitable for international comparison. It is essential to invest in reliable and internationally comparable data, obtained according to best evidence, to get more insight into real differences regarding risk factors in Europe. The European Public Health programme may be an opportunity to realize these goals.
在一个统一的欧洲，成员国在福利制度和人口动态等方面日益相似，那么生活方式差异发生了什么变化？在本文中，我们试图回答欧洲与生活方式相关的风险因素差距在过去30 - 40年里是否已经缩小这一问题。
吸烟、饮酒、体育活动、肥胖和食物消费都会对癌症、心血管疾病及其他非传染性疾病产生影响。对欧盟统计局、经合组织（经济合作与发展组织）和世界卫生组织的数据库进行筛选，以获取有关欧盟与生活方式相关风险因素的数据，并对收集了所选因素国际可比数据的研究进行文献检索。
在过去30 - 40年里，欧洲在吸烟（女性）、饮酒和总脂肪摄入量方面的生活方式差距已经缩小。对于水果和蔬菜消费，趋同并未出现。对于一些风险因素，如吸烟和肥胖，国内差异超过了国际差异。
结果支持随着时间推移欧洲人生活方式趋同的观点。我们还发现，严重缺乏适合国际比较的与生活方式相关风险因素的可靠数据。必须投资于依据最佳证据获得的可靠且具有国际可比性的数据，以便更深入了解欧洲风险因素的实际差异。欧洲公共卫生计划可能是实现这些目标的一个契机。
