Don’t smoke, take drink in moderation, do walk a lot and do not gorge yourself beyond your satiation : health education by television in West Germany from the 1960s to the 1980s

Abstract

This article discusses health education through television in West Germany, with a focus on nutrition and physical activity. Public health initiatives on television contributed to the fitness boom of the late 1960s and 1970s that aimed to counterbalance post-war lifestyle changes within the West German population. The article uses individual TV programme formats and campaigns as examples to show that the 1970s marked the beginning of behaviour-oriented health education in West Germany. The ZDF health telemagazine Gesundheitsmagazin Praxis gave advice, for example on proper food and conveyed how the audience was increasingly requested to actively participate, in order to encourage health-conscious behaviour.