The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey is sponsored by the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. NHANES has been traveling across the country learning about the health of the U.S. population since 1960.
Have you ever wondered how health care providers know what’s considered a healthy blood pressure?
NHANES collects a broad range of data that addresses everything from the chemicals people are exposed to in their environment to the tracking of critical health concerns, such as high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes. Public health officials and legislators use this information to develop public health policies, like eliminating lead from gasoline and soft drink cans. NHANES data also help produce national baseline information, like blood pressure or cholesterol averages, and standardized growth charts used by physicians across the country…