This paper examines environmental and health consciousness, as well as behavioural costs and their effects on the purchase of organic products. The consumption of organic products is regarded as an investment in individual health. The low‐cost hypothesis takes environmental attitudes and behavioural costs into account and is applied to organic food consumption. The survey conducted in three German cities in 2006 using self‐administered questionnaires (n = 521) does not investigate willingness to pay but rather self‐reported behaviour. The results of the regressions using the Heckman correction show that income does not affect the regularity of organic food consumption but that it does influence individual expenditure on organic food. Furthermore, there is an inverted u‐shaped relation between age and the purchase of organic products. Although health consciousness has a stronger association with organic food consumption than does environmental concern, the interaction between behavioural costs and health or environmental consciousness shows no effect. Thus, the low‐cost hypothesis is not supported.

Research Methods and Procedures:Within a cluster-sampled quasi-randomized controlled trial, 1764 children at 6 and 10 years of age were assessed between 1996 and 2005 in 32 primary schools in Kiel, North Germany. Six nutrition units followed by 20-minute running games were performed within the first year at school. Prevalence, incidence, and remission of overweight were main outcome measures. Results: The 4-year change in BMI was ϩ11.6%, with increases in prevalence of overweight and obesity from 5.2% to 11.1% and 3.9% to 5.1%, respectively. Cumulative 4-year incidence of overweight and obesity was 9.2% and 3.1%, respectively. Intervention had no effect on mean BMI. The effect on prevalence was significant in children from families with high socioeconomic status [odds ratio (OR), 0.35; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.14 to 0.91] and marginally significant in children of normal-weight mothers (OR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.33 to 1.00). Cumulative 4-year incidence of overweight was lower only in intervention children from families with high socioeconomic status (OR, 0.26; 95% CI, 0.07 to 0.87). Remission of overweight was most pronounced in children of normal-weight mothers (OR, 5.43; 95% CI, 1.28 to 23.01). Prevalence of underweight was unchanged. The intervention had minor but favorable effects on lifestyle. Discussion: A school-based health promotion has sustainable effects on remission and incidence of overweight; it was most pronounced in children of normal-weight mothers and children from families with high socioeconomic status. There was no effect on obesity. The data argue in favor of additional measures of prevention.

Physical stature is used as a proxy for the biological standard of living in the two Germanies before and after unification in an analysis of a cross-sectional sample (1998) of adult heights, as well as among military recruits of the 1990s. West Germans tended to be taller than East Germans throughout the period under consideration. Contrary to official proclamations of a classless society, there were substantial social differences in physical stature in East Germany. Social differences in height were greater in the East among females, and less among males than in the West. The difficulties experienced by the East German population after 1961 is evident in the increase in social inequality of physical stature thereafter, as well as in the considerable gap relative to the height of the West German population. After unification, however, there is a tendency for East German males, but not of females, to catch up with their West German counterparts.

This paper deals with differences in health and health behaviour between those who are insured in the German Statutory Sickness Funds (GKV) and those who are privately insured (PKV). This topic has been largely ignored in German Public Health research. The analyses are based on data from a large survey in Germany conducted in 1998 and including 6822 adults. The multivariate analyses have been performed with OLS and logistic regression, separately for men and women and controlling for age, educational level, income and region. The most important result is that PKV-insured men have fewer diseases and feel more healthy than GKV-insured men. For women, though, no significant association could be found between health and type of health insurance. The interpretation of these results is mainly based on the "selection hypothesis", stating that healthier persons are more likely to be insured in the PKV than in the GKV. This would imply that the "causation hypothesis" (stating that being privately insured has a positive effect on health) is less important. Taking into account the current discussion on the balance between GKV and PKV, it is believed that future research should focus more on these topics.

The West German capitalistic welfare state provided a more propitious environment for the physical growth of the human organism than did the socialist East German government. There were substantial social differences in height in the officially classless German Democratic Republic.