COUDERSPORT — The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, considered the most comprehensive survey of the health and nutritional status of the U.S. population, is underway in Potter County.
“All counties in the United States have a chance to be selected for the NHANES and this year, Potter County is one of 15 counties that was selected to be part of this initiative. NHANES provides important data on public health problems from a national perspective,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said in a press release.
Each year, 5,000 residents across the nation have the chance to participate in the latest National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics.
“NHANES serves as the nation’s ‘health check-up,’ going into communities to collect health information throughout the country,” said NCHS Director Charles J. Rothwell. “The survey is a unique resource for health information, and without it we would lack important knowledge about major health conditions.”
Residents will have an invitation-only opportunity to participate in NHANES. Individuals have been selected at random, and include all ages, races and ethnicities in order to represent the U.S. population as a whole.
Respondents first participate in a health interview conducted in the respondent’s home followed by a health examination that takes place in one of three mobile examination centers.
While no medical care is provided directly in the mobile examination center, a report on physical findings is given to each participant along with an explanation from survey medical staff.
For the past 55 years, NHANES has had a prominent role in improving the health of people living in the U.S. Public health officials, legislators, and physicians use the information gathered in NHANES to develop health policies, direct and design health programs and services, and expand the health knowledge for the nation.
NHANES findings provide critical health-related information on a number of issues such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. In addition, NHANES data are used to produce national references and are used to create standardized growth charts for pediatricians across the country.
