Assessment of Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors among First-Year Medical, Dentistry and Health Sciences Students in Turkey

This cross-sectional study, in which the first-year findings of a prospective followup study were presented, was conducted with 356 students enrolled in the firstyear of three faculties at a state university in Istanbul between November 1st and December 31st, 2019. With this study, it was aimed to evaluate the changes in certain healthy lifestyle behaviors, risky behaviors and depression levels of students enrolled at the different faculties of a public university in Istanbul during their university life. The data were obtained through a questionnaire of 65 questions, and the Beck Depression Inventory, which consisted of 21 questions. They were administered under supervision by providing preliminary information to the students. The mean body mass index, mean systolic blood pressure and mean diastolic blood pressure values of the students were 23.23 + 4.1, 108.97 + 15.21 and 66.98 + 10.08, respectively. The mean daily sleep time was 6.77 + 1.21 hours, the mean TV viewing time was 0.77 + 1.13 hours, and the mean time they spent with a smartphone, tablet or computer was 3.67 + 2.50 hours. Among the students, 37.07% were smokers, 26.12% consumed alcohol, and 4.77% used addictive substances. Of the students, 31.46% considered themselves at risk for depression. At the universities, there is a need for the implementation of health promotion programs focusing on promoting physical activity and healthy nutrition and reducing risky behaviors. In addition, these programs should be strengthened with the trainings on changing behaviors.

Predicting Factors among Healthy Lifestyle Beliefs, Behaviors and Mental Health Indicators in Taiwanese Adolescents

Aims: The prevalence of overweight adolescents in Taiwan has dramatically increased in recent years. A survey shows that 66.6% of adolescents do not get the recommended amount of vegetables and fruit (i.e., two portions of fruit and three portions of vegetables per day each week). The purpose of this study was to explore relationships between individual understanding of activity and nutrition, healthy lifestyle beliefs, perceived difficulty of efficacy in reaching health goals, mental health variables, and healthy lifestyle behavior on BMI in Taiwanese adolescents. Study Design: This is a theoretically-based and cross-sectional research study. Place and Duration of Study: Data were conducted from two middle schools in Taiwan between Sep 2011 to November 2011. Methodology: We used a convenience sampling to recruit 453 adolescents with a mean age of 13.42 years. The instruments used were demographics, Beck Youth Inventory II (Depression, Anxiety, Self-concept), Healthy Lifestyle Belief Scale, Healthy Lifestyle Behavior Scale, Perceived Difficulty Scale, Nutrition and Activity Knowledge Scales. We conducted path analysis to test our theoretical model by using Mplus 5.21. Results: Fit indices included χ2 (23, 453) =33.75, P= .05, CFI=.98, and RMSEA=.03, indicating that the model fit the model well. Healthy lifestyle beliefs had a significant positive effect on healthy lifestyle behaviors (β= .41, P= .01). Moreover, there was a significant negative relationship between perceived difficulty and healthy lifestyle behaviors (β= -.54, P= .01). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that promoting positive beliefs about healthy lifestyle among adolescents may facilitate healthy lifestyle changes and help them perceive less difficulty in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. School nurses and health professionals in Taiwan need to coordinate essential resources and implement theoretical-based educational program that address issues on increasing adolescents’ healthy lifestyle beliefs.