The NHANES Story

Running Time: 16 minutes, 58 seconds
Release Date: 12/21/2010

Read the script [PDF - 30 KB]

What: This documentary recorded the first 50 years of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), the people who worked at the survey, their cherished memories and biggest challenges, and the significant impact the NHANES survey made on the nation’s public health. In short, it captured the history of NHANES through the stories told by the “NHANES people.”

Why: The documentary was neither a “commissioned” nor “assigned” project. It was out of the initiative of two NCHS employees. They wanted to capture the rich history on tape and tell the stories from the perspective of the people who have made the survey. Plus, they just wanted some fun making a video!

How: Armed with a 10-year-old consumer grade video camera and a make-shift studio, two NCHS employees went on with their interviews. The project had a budget of $0.00, a total of 80 some hours of staff time, and about six months time to complete the whole project. The director, Megan Cox, was also the videographer, light engineer, and editor. The planner, Dr. Yinong Chong, who served as the interviewer and producer, is a health scientist from NHANES and a former Journalist from China. Many of the archived footage and photos were seamlessly integrated into the documentary to tell the story of NHANES. The rest is history, and you can enjoy it again and again in this video.