The National Study of Health and Growth (NSHG): 23 years on the road.

This paper aims to give a record of the National Study of Health and Growth (NSHG) in terms of structure, process, its scientific contribution, outcome measurements, and the commissioning and funding of the study. The NSHG is a nutritional monitoring system of primary school children. The study included three samples: representative English and Scottish samples, and an inner city sample. There were 56 study areas and 50% were surveyed every year. The study was started in 1972 and ran without interruption for 23 years. Measurements were taken for height, weight and skinfold thickness for more than 95% of the children and the response rate to the questionnaire was approximately 85%. This level of collaboration did not diminish over time. More than 80 papers have been published on the study. Results from the study have documented an increase of height and obesity in England and Scotland, and an increase in asthma. The NSHG has shown that research units in a university environment can marry the scientific and administrative tasks of a large survey carried out over a long-term period.