Did you know that the guidelines for the child growth standards came from the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)? NHANES, one of the longest running and comprehensive health surveys in the world, has been a critical source for health information and standards since 1959.
NHANES provides a snapshot of the health of the United States and a formula for conducting surveys that have been replicated all over the world. NHANES is unique, in that it requires a true commitment from 10,000 Americans over a two year cycle.
Different from other surveys, every American has a chance to participate in the survey and in addition to an interview, it includes a medical exam.
To administer the survey, the CDC has four tractor trailer mobile exam centers that are in one of 15 cities resulting in a representative sample of the U.S. population. To get a true representation, 350 – 400 people in each of the 80 age/gender/race fields are selected. Of those selected, each participant undergoes a medical exam that can take up to 6 – 7 hours. During the exam, patient’s diet, weight, height, cholesterol, blood, urine, auditory health, oral health, and overall health are examined and recorded. At the end of the exam patients receive most test results instantly with some results pending lab work.
Currently, NHANES trailers are at the Department of Health and Human Services Headquarters in downtown Washington, DC conducting interviews. To learn more about their work, Bryan Sivak, HHS’s Chief Technology Officer was given a tour and overview of NHANES. At the conclusion of the tour, Sivak said, “The process is remarkably efficient and informational, from the people conducting the interviews to the survey data being analyzed and recorded, it is truly impressive. I encourage everyone to consider being a volunteer."
Given the complexity and extensive time obligation, participants are doing a true service to this country. It is only through the commitment and dedication of Americans that NHANES has been successful is in providing comprehensive health data since 1959.
You can find all the great data from NHANES on the CDC’s website.
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