scholarly journals Risky Behaviors and Health-Promoting Behaviors in Young Adults: An Epidemiological Study

Author(s):  
Leila Jahangard ◽  
Helen Behmanesh ◽  
Mohammad Ahmadpanah ◽  
Seyedeh Mahsa Poormoosavi ◽  
Alireza Solitanian ◽  
...  

Objective: Health behaviors are defined as activities that affect either health status or disease risk. They can be divided into 2 categories: risky behaviors and health promoting behaviors. The growing body of evidence indicates that unhealthy behaviors often cluster in young individuals. Patterns of health-related behaviors are significantly different among countries and even among various regions of a certain country. Method: The present study was conducted to assess the youths’ patterns of health attitude, health-related behaviors, and their mental and physical wellbeing. In this cross-sectional study, 800 university undergraduate students were selected using multistage cluster sampling method. Standard questionnaires were filled by students. Results: About 13.3% of students smoked regularly and 14.3% reported at least one occasion of drinking, and heavy drinking was quite prevalent. Of the students, 95% reported regular physical activity and exercise. Eating habits were not healthy among the majority of students, as there was a high consumption of fast food and salt, and only 23.9% had normal body weight. Self-care behaviors were not prevalent among the students (3.2% breast self-exam and 8.5% testicular self-examination). Conclusion: Many factors may affect positive and negative heath behaviors, including knowledge, beliefs and attitudes, legal constrains, social context, and economic status. However, lower health literacy leads to more negative health behaviors.

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 5-12
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Prokopowicz ◽  
Grzegorz Prokopowicz ◽  
Bartosz Molik ◽  
Ewa Kozdroń

Abstract Introduction: Health is highly valued by individuals as well as whole social groups. Lifestyle, and related with this health behaviors are believed to be the main factors that largely determine its condition. Poland is a country, where the number of malignant cancer morbidity is systematically increasing. Breast cancer is the most common among women aged 45 years old. Despite the relative stability of the mortality outcomes the rate of it is still high. This situation is influenced by many factors, including the limited awareness of the value of health-related behaviors. Material and methods: The study included 70 women aged 45-75 years old. The study and control group consisted of: 36 women with breast cancer and 34 women without cancer in history. The specifically developed questionnaire and the Positive Health Behaviors Scale for Women developed by Hildt-Ciupińska were used in this study. IBM SPSS v. 21.0 was used for statistical analysis and non-parametric U-Mann Whitney test. Results: The study let determine the level of women's health behaviors. The analysis of the results showed that there are much anomalies in health-related behaviors in both studied groups. The lowest point scale values were reported in the "Physical activity" subscale. The highest values were reported in the "Safety behaviors" and "Caring body" subscale. The disappointing results in statements related with the prevention of cancer were the most alarmous. Conclusions: The introduction of health prevention awareness programs in the group of women over 45 years of age, may contribute to an increase in the frequency of health-promoting behaviors.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (24) ◽  
pp. 10512
Author(s):  
Kyung Han You (Ryu) ◽  
Jaehee Cho

This study explored the cognitive structures that influence mobile information seekers’ intentions of promoting health behaviors. Using a nationwide self-reported survey (n = 1010) conducted by a national research institute in Korea, the present study conducted multiple regression analyses and moderated mediation tests for its analysis. The results showed that two of the three social cognitive components—i.e., health information orientation (HIO) and e-health literacy (EHL)—had a positive effect on users’ mobile health information seeking behaviors (MHIS), whereas informational social support (ISS) did not. Furthermore, the effects of the social cognition factors varied based on the type of health-promoting behaviors, and the types of health-related behavior predicted by the three factors also differed. Moreover, HIO was a factor that affected only nutritional intake among all of the health promotion behaviors, while ISS was a critical factor that predicted most health-related behaviors, except for the participants’ regular exercise (REX). The findings also indicated that the respondents’ levels of health efficacy and the extent of their health-related information seeking on mobile devices partially mediated the associations between the independent variables and their health-related behavioral outcomes. Among the mediated moderation effects of the three factors in social cognition theory (SCT), only the mediated effects of EHL were found to be significant. Based on these findings, the present study highlighted that the predictors of health-promoting behaviors may vary according to the features of the information seekers. The further implications of the study are also discussed.


2021 ◽  
pp. 002071522110413
Author(s):  
Tom VanHeuvelen ◽  
Jane S VanHeuvelen

How does engagement in multiple health behaviors consolidate into health promoting health lifestyles, and how does economic development provide a broadly shared living condition to enable participation in health promoting health lifestyles? To answer these questions, we harmonize information from the 2011 International Social Survey Programme and the 2014 European Social Survey to examine patterns of health lifestyles and subsequent associations with self-rated health in representative samples of 52 country-years nested in 35 countries, with repeated observations from 17 countries. We find individuals engage more frequently in health promoting behaviors in countries with higher levels of economic development. Moreover, we find a tighter connection between health lifestyles and health in countries with higher levels of economic development. Critically, we move health lifestyles research forward by testing the consequences of within country changes in economic development, finding that growth in economic development increases the engagement of health promoting health behaviors. Policy and theoretical implications are discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 109 (9) ◽  
pp. 3162-3191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Itzik Fadlon ◽  
Torben Heien Nielsen

We study how health behaviors are shaped through family spillovers. We leverage administrative data to identify the effects of health shocks on family members’ consumption of preventive care and health-related behaviors, constructing counterfactuals for affected households using households that experience the same shock but a few years in the future. Spouses and adult children immediately improve their health behaviors and their responses are both significant and persistent. These spillovers are far-reaching as they cascade even to coworkers. While some responses are consistent with learning information about one’s own health, the evidence points to salience as a major operative explanation. (JEL D15, D83, I12, J12)


2016 ◽  
Vol 85 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-247
Author(s):  
Brian Ayotte ◽  
Clare Mehta ◽  
Jacqueline Alfonso

Objective We examined health-related communication between same-sex and other-sex friends and how communication was related to health-related behavior. Participants Data from 243 emerging adults attending college ( Mage = 18.96, SD = 1.43; 55.6% male) were analyzed. Methods Participants completed measures assessing the frequency in which they talked about and made plans to engage in exercise and nutrition-related behaviors with friends, as well as how often they engaged in exercise and nutrition-related behaviors. Results In general, participants reported more health-related communication with same-sex friends. Health-related communication with same-sex friends was positively related to health behaviors for men and women. However, the pattern of results differed for men and women depending on the topic of communication and the behavior being examined. Conclusion Our study extends the literature by examining the role of sex of friends in health communication and planning and how interactions with friends relate to health-promoting behavior.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiara Amaro-Rivera ◽  
Elena Carbone

Abstract Objectives Self-perceived diet quality is an important psychosocial factor that can influence dietary patterns. Several studies have found an association between this variable and health-related behaviors, such as eating fruits and vegetables and exercising regularly. However, this relationship has not been well studied among minority groups. The aim of this research was to examine the associations between sociodemographic and health-related variables and self-perception of diet quality among adults living in Puerto Rico. Methods This was a cross-sectional study. A researcher-designed questionnaire was distributed within a particular community. One questionnaire was given per household to be answered by everyone living in the house. A multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the association between the dependent variable, self-perceived diet quality (specified as excellent/very good/good or fair/poor), and the following independent variables: age groups, sex, education, poverty level estimate, self-rated health, intake of fruits or vegetables, sugar-sweetened beverages and fast-food, physical activity, recreational screen time (as a proxy for sedentary time), and BMI categories. Results A total of 106 questionnaires were distributed and 93 were returned, with data collected for 254 individuals. Children (n = 57) and adults with missing data (n = 5) were excluded from the analysis. The final sample consisted of 192 adults aged ≥18 years. Among these, 53.1% were females, 52.0% completed more than high school, 41.7% were below the poverty level estimate, and 61.5% were either overweight or obese. A total of 26.6% of the participants described their diet as fair/poor. Fair/poor self-perceived diet quality was associated with higher odds of reporting fair/poor self-rated health, consuming less than one cup of fruits or vegetables per day, eating at fast-food one or more times per week, and spending three hours or more per day using a screen for recreational purposes. Conclusions Self-perception of diet quality was associated with certain health-related behaviors in our sample. Future research should examine the association between self-perceived and objective diet quality, as previous research has shown that Puerto Ricans have poor knowledge of dietary recommendation. Funding Sources N/A. Supporting Tables, Images and/or Graphs


2012 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michał Ziarko ◽  
Łukasz Kaczmarek ◽  
Ewa Mojs

Mediating role of coping styles in the relationship between anxiety and health behaviors of obese adolescents Obesity is one of the major health problems in adolescents. Health-detrimental lifestyle (i.e. lack of physical activity, inappropriate nutrition) as well as maladaptive styles of coping with stress are regarded as belonging among determinants of obesity. The aim of the study was to establish factors mediating between anxiety and diet-related health behaviors. Participants in the study were 113 adolescents with obesity whose body weight was over 97th centile. They were examined using a set of self-report questionnaires to measure anxiety, coping styles and health behaviors. Emotion-focused coping and seeking social contacts (social diversion) were found to act as mediators between adolescents' trait anxiety and their health behaviors. The findings suggest that to enhance obese adolescents' health-promoting behaviors appropriate conditions should be ensured that would not only enable them to express their emotions, but also promote their socializing with peers.


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