Forty years on: Professor Neville Butler and the British Birth Cohort studies

This paper traces the major contribution made by Professor Neville Butler, over a period of 40 years, to the foundation and subsequent development of two of Britain's three national birth cohort studies: the National Child Development Study, which has monitored the lives of all those in Britain born in the week 3-9 March 1958, and the British Cohort Study 1970, which has similarly followed the development of those born in the week 5-11 April 1970. Some recent findings from the two studies in the areas of health and health behaviour are briefly summarised, as are the plans for their future development.