WorldWideScience

Sample records for healthy lifestyle insight

  1. Healthy lifestyle and Czech consumers

    OpenAIRE

    Kubešová, Jana

    2011-01-01

    This thesis is focused on healthy lifestyle. It concentrates specifically on impact on human health and which lifestyle lives Czech population. This work summarizes the principles of helathy lifestyle and reveals lifestyles of Czech people with market segmentation and MML-TGI data in the practical part. This can help firms in targeting and addressing people within healthy lifestyle.

  2. Healthy Lifestyle of Czech University Students

    OpenAIRE

    Marholdová, Lucie

    2013-01-01

    The thesis deals with the healthy lifestyle of Czech university students. The main objectives are to map the healthy lifestyle of Czech university students, especially to find out whether they follow the principles of healthy lifestyle, to find out their knowledge concerning this issue, to find out if there are any obstacles to follow the healthy lifestyle and to find out whether they know any projects supporting health and healthy lifestyle. In the theoretical part of the thesis the basic te...

  3. Healthy lifestyle in teachers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pirzadeh, Asiyeh; Sharifirad, Gholamreza; Kamran, Aziz

    2012-01-01

    The role of individual healthy behaviors like physical activity, nutrition and stress management on reduction of rate of disease mortality and morbidity is well known. The aim of this study is to determine healthy life style in teachers employed in district No.4 in Isfahan, Iran, in 2010. The participants of this cross-sectional study were 96 teachers in district No. 4, selected via random sampling method. The data collection was performed using a questionnaire including demographic healthy lifestyle questions. Analysis of the data was performed through Software SPSS version 18. The mean age of the subjects was 40.26 ± 6.05 years and, BMI mean was 25.08 ± 3.20. 96.8% of them were married and 3.1% also were single. 1% of the teachers had a weak lifestyle, 13.5%had moderate, 85.4% had a good lifestyle. In terms of nutrition, 2% of the teachers had a weak lifestyle, 23% moderate, 74% good. 76% in terms of physical activity, 29.2% smoking and 21.9% stress had a weak lifestyle. According to the results, planning for teachers in school for receiving information about healthy lifestyle is important.

  4. Evaluating Preschool Children Knowledge about Healthy Lifestyle: Preliminary Examination of the Healthy Lifestyle Evaluation Instrument

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grammatikopoulos, Vasilis; Konstantinidou, Elisavet; Tsigilis, Nikolaos; Zachopoulou, Evridiki; Tsangaridou, Niki; Liukkonen, Jarmo

    2008-01-01

    The aim of this study was to develop an instrument to evaluate the knowledge of preschool children about healthy lifestyle behavior. The innovation was that the instrument was designed to get direct evidence about healthy lifestyle from children aged 4-6 years old. Usually, children knowledge is estimated indirectly (parents, teachers), but the…

  5. Barriers to adopting a healthy lifestyle: insight from postpartum women

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krause Katrina M

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Postpartum weight retention can contribute to obesity. There may be unique barriers to weight loss in this period. Findings Cases are presented for three postpartum women who declined to participate in a postpartum weight loss intervention. Despite their desire to engage in healthier behaviors, or partake in an intervention uniquely designed to promote healthy lifestyles for postpartum women, some find it too difficult to make such commitments. Barriers women face in adopting a healthier lifestyle in this period include 1 time availability; 2 prioritizing other competing life responsibilities above their own health; 3 support from family members, friends, and/or co-workers; and 4 lack of flexibility in the intervention structure. These illustrations describe their perspectives in the context of life balance, perceived health, and support, and reflect the multi-dimensional nature of their lives during the life cycle change of the postpartum period. Conclusion Postpartum women face difficult and complex challenges to prioritizing their health and their weight management.

  6. On the normative model of a healthy lifestyle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Riza Akhmedzakievich Kasimov

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available The formation of a healthy lifestyle among the educational process subjects is one of the main functions of health-saving educational space. This function can be implemented effectively only if the executive bodies in the sphere of education, other agencies, the public and the subjects of the educational process take active part in this process. Such cooperation requires a common understanding in the issues to promote health of all pedagogical process participants, but to date the concept “healthy lifestyle” has not been clearly defined and the effective and optimized pedagogical models for its formation, according to the cross-cutting principle, have not been elaborated. The article analyzes different points of view on this issue. A healthy lifestyle is considered as a complex pedagogical technology to create health culture. Taking into account the scholars’ attitudes to the concept “healthy lifestyle” the author identifies three main components of a healthy lifestyle: health culture, health-saving activity and conditions that ensure a healthy lifestyle. The article argues that health saving needs of a person predetermine his/her health-saving activities. It reveals the main strategic sub-components of a healthy lifestyle: physical, environmental, medical, psychological and spiritual-moral activities. The work presents the normative model of a healthy lifestyle and its structure. It defines a healthy lifestyle as a model of health-saving behavior model. The author proves that the proposed normative model of a healthy lifestyle can be successfully used for the formation of health-saving educational space on the principles of inter-sectoral collaboration

  7. Defining and understanding healthy lifestyles choices for adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Ka; Kramer, Ellen; Houser, Robert F; Chomitz, Virginia R; Hacker, Karen A

    2004-07-01

    To: (a) establish criteria for defining positive health behaviors and lifestyle; and (b) identify characteristics of adolescents who practice a healthy lifestyle. Responses from a 1998 survey via questionnaire, of 1487 students, from a public high school, Cambridge, Massachusetts, were used to assess correlates of healthy lifestyle choices. Strict and broad assessments of healthy behaviors were defined for students: use of alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs; sexual behavior; attempted suicide. Whereas the "strict" criteria included only those adolescents who did not practice any of the behaviors in question, the broad criteria reflected experimentation and moderate risk-taking. The prevalence of positive behaviors was assessed by demographic and student characteristics. In addition, logistic regression models were created to predict determinants of teenagers' healthy lifestyles using both strict and broad definitions. Using strict criteria of healthy lifestyle, significant predictors were being female, born outside the United States, higher academic performance, and fewer stressful life events. Using a broad definition of a healthy lifestyle, significant predictors were being non-Caucasian, in the lower grade levels at the school, higher academic performance, and fewer stressful life events. In both models, peers' approval of risky behaviors negatively influenced teens' lifestyles, whereas parents' disapproval of risky behaviors was a positive influence. These results reinforce the importance of school, peer, and parent support of positive behaviors. It is important for public health workers and families to understand and define healthy lifestyles choices for adolescents.

  8. Who will deliver comprehensive healthy lifestyle interventions to combat non-communicable disease? Introducing the healthy lifestyle practitioner discipline.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arena, Ross; Lavie, Carl J; Hivert, Marie-France; Williams, Mark A; Briggs, Paige D; Guazzi, Marco

    2016-01-01

    Unhealthy lifestyle characteristics (i.e., physical inactivity, excess body mass, poor diet, and smoking) as well as associated poor health metrics (i.e., dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia, and hypertension) are the primary reasons for the current non-communicable disease crisis. Compared to those with the poorest of lifestyles and associated health metrics, any movement toward improving lifestyle and associated health metrics improves health outcomes. To address the non-communicable disease crisis we must: 1) acknowledge that healthy lifestyle (HL) interventions are a potent medicine; and 2) move toward a healthcare system that embraces primordial as much as, if not more than, secondary prevention with a heavy focus on HL medicine. This article introduces the Healthy Lifestyle Practitioner, focused on training health professionals to deliver HL medicine.

  9. Future perspective and healthy lifestyle choices in adulthood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tasdemir-Ozdes, Aylin; Strickland-Hughes, Carla M; Bluck, Susan; Ebner, Natalie C

    2016-09-01

    Regardless of age, making healthy lifestyle choices is prudent. Despite that, individuals of all ages sometimes have difficulty choosing the healthy option. We argue that individuals' view of the future and position in the life span affects their current lifestyle choices. We capture the multidimensionality of future thinking by assessing 3 types of future perspective. Younger and older men and women (N = 127) reported global future time perspective, future health perspective, and perceived importance of future health-related events. They also rated their likelihood of making healthy lifestyle choices. As predicted, older participants indicated greater intention to make healthy choices in their current life than did younger participants. Compared to younger participants, older participants reported shorter global future time perspective and anticipated worse future health but perceived future health-related events as more important. Having a positive view of one's future health and seeing future health-related events as important were related to greater intention to make healthy lifestyle choices, but greater global future time perspective was not directly related to healthy choices. However, follow-up analyses suggested that greater global future time perspective indirectly affected healthy choices via a more positive view of future health. None of these relations were moderated by age. Individuals' perspective on the future is shown to be an important multidimensional construct affecting everyday healthy lifestyle choices for both younger and older adults. Implications for encouraging healthy choices across the adult life span are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  10. Implementation of healthy lifestyle promotion in primary care: patients as coproducers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Kristin; Bendtsen, Preben; Krevers, Barbro

    2014-11-01

    To explore and theorize how patients perceive, interpret, and reactin healthy lifestyle promotion situations in primary care and to investigate patients' role in implementation of lifestyle promotion illustrated by typologies. Grounded theory was used to assess qualitative interview data from 22 patients with varied experience of healthy lifestyle promotion. Data were analyzed by constant comparative analysis. A substantive theory of being healthy emerged from the data. The theory highlights the processes that are important for implementation before, during, and after lifestyle promotion. Three interconnected categories emerged from the data: conditions for being healthy, managing being healthy, and interactions about being healthy; these formed the core category: being healthy. A typology proposed four patient trajectories on being healthy: resigned, receivers, coworkers, and leaders. Patients coproduced the implementation of lifestyle promotion through the degree of transparency, which was a result of patients' expectations and situation appraisals. Different approaches are needed during lifestyle promotion depending on a variety of patient-related factors. The typology could guide practitioners in their lifestyle promotion practice. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Motivations for Healthy Lifestyle in Railroad Employees

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iztok Ostan

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the paper is to present the results of a survey of railroad employees’ motivation for a healthy lifestyle. For this purpose a specific questionnaire was developed. The study was performed on 245 Slovene railroad workers (168 of them blue-collar ones. The great majority (66.9% were found to be overweight or obese (BMI 25 or more, with no significant difference between blue- and white-collar workers. The great majority of them were in general aware of having unhealthy nutrition and an unhealthy lifestyle. Most of the employees felt the need to improve (at least in part their nutrition (74.7% and lifestyle (78.0%; the majority (67.8% also declared that they could adopt a healthier lifestyle despite the constraints of everyday life and work conditions; however, 57.6% said that they had been already putting considerable effort into a healthier nutrition and lifestyle. Thus the effort needed to overcome constraints toward a healthier lifestyle seems to be the key problem: the majority (54.3% would rather choose walking than running or other intensive forms of exercise; they are not ready to do it for more than one hour per day (60%, and they are not ready to give up permanently food that they like and that is considered unhealthy. The differences in motivations for a healthy lifestyle between blue- and white-collar workers were not significant at the 0.05 level. Further research in this field is needed; however, it seems that the methods of efficient marginal modifications of lifestyle are required. KEYWORDS human resources management, railroad, blue-collar workers, white-collar workers, healthy lifestyle, motivations

  12. Patterns of healthy lifestyle and positive health attitudes in older Europeans

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kozlowska, Katarzyna; Szczecinka, A.; Roszkowski, Wojciech

    2008-01-01

    ) the association between healthy lifestyle behaviors and positive attitudes to health. Design: two distinct healthy behavioral measures were developed: (i) healthy lifestyles based on physical activity, no cigarette smoking, no/moderate alcohol drinking, maintaining a "healthy" weight and having no sleeping......Objectives: To determine (i) the extent to which recommended lifestyle healthy behaviors are adopted and the existence of positive attitudes to health; (ii) the relative influence of socio-demographic variables on multiple healthy lifestyle behaviors and positive attitudes to health; (iii...... problems and (ii) positive health attitudes based on having positive emotional attitudes, such as: self-perceived good health status, being calm, peaceful and happy for most of the time, not expecting health to get worse and regular health check-ups. A composite healthy lifestyle index, ranging from 0...

  13. Social Relationships in Religious Institutions and Healthy Lifestyles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krause, Neal; Shaw, Benjamin; Liang, Jersey

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to see if encouragement from fellow church members helps older people develop and maintain healthy lifestyles. The findings indicate that informal church-based support is associated with healthy lifestyles among older African Americans but not older Whites. In addition, the influence of support from fellow church…

  14. Education in Healthy Lifestyles: Curriculum Implications. Fastback 216.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seffrin, John R.; Torabi, Mohammad R.

    The nature of a healthy lifestyle and its significance to quality of life is examined. Following a discussion on what is involved in a healthy lifestyle, major health problems are described: (1) smoking; (2) alcohol and drug abuse; (3) sexually transmitted diseases; (4) diet and obesity; (5) stress; and (6) inadequate sleep. Recommendations are…

  15. Determination of Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors of High School Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Çelebi, Evrim; Gündogdu, Cemal; Kizilkaya, Aysel

    2017-01-01

    Healthy lifestyle behaviors can be defined as all the behaviors believed and applied by individuals to be healthy, maintain health and be protected from diseases. This study aims to determine the healthy lifestyle behaviors of high school students studying at the high schools in the Province of Elazig, Turkey. The study population of this…

  16. Engaging rural women in healthy lifestyle programs: insights from a randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kozica, Samantha L; Harrison, Cheryce L; Teede, Helena J; Ng, Sze; Moran, Lisa J; Lombard, Catherine B

    2015-09-16

    The obesity epidemic is well established, particularly in rural settings. Programs promoting healthy lifestyles for rural women are urgently needed; however, participant engagement is challenging. In the context of a large randomized controlled trial targeting the prevention of weight gain in rural women, we explored successful recruitment strategies and aimed to understand participants' barriers, enablers and reasons for program participation. We recruited women (aged 18-55 years) from the general rural Australian population. A mixed-methods approach was applied to explore factors that influenced program participation, including quantitative questionnaires for all participants (n = 649) and qualitative semi-structured interviews conducted for a subgroup of participants (n = 45). Data were collected at three time points: baseline, 6 and 12 months post program commencement. We recruited 649 rural women through a community communication and partnering strategy, a program marketing campaign and mobilization of social networks. Program participants were diverse across education and income levels and were representative of the wider Australian regional population. Factors that influenced program engagement were divided into personal (perceived program benefits and program accessibility) and social (peer persuasion and support). Identified enablers included convenience of the program location, perceived program utility, such as weight management and optimization of lifestyle choices, as well as attending the program with peer support. Barriers to engagement, which are likely exacerbated in rural communities included lack of anonymity, self-consciousness and segregated social networks in rural settings. Participants reported that eliciting local support and maximizing publicity is fundamental to improving future program engagement. Multiple program promotion strategies including communication, marketing and partnering, as well as mobilization of social networks and peer

  17. Promotion of a Healthy Weight and Lifestyle among Children: The ‘Be Active, Eat Right’ Study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    A. van Grieken (Amy)

    2013-01-01

    textabstractOverweight and obesity among children has become a public health issue. This thesis aimed to describe interventions promoting a healthy weight and lifestyle among children and provide insight in elements that may be related to intervention improvement. Health care has an important role

  18. Healthy lifestyle as contemporary dominant of state youth policy in Ukraine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. I. Khozhylo

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Article deals with actual issue of healthy lifestyle promotion as component of native state youth policy. The review of main legislative and regulatory legal acts on healthy lifestyle promotion of Ukraine is conducted. The main focus is on analysis of perspective regulatory legal acts that regulate activities on healthy lifestyle promotion and realization at the context of execution of international liabilities of Ukraine. Structure of program provision of international liabilities execution on healthy lifestyle promotion and realization in youth environment by Ukrainian state at the context of legal, organizational, financial and social mechanisms of public administration is thoroughly analyzed.

  19. PETE Students' Perceptions of a Healthy and Active Lifestyle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilkinson, Carol; Pennington, Todd; Barney, David; Lockhart, Barbara; Hager, Ron; Prusak, Keven

    2014-01-01

    Participants were male and female students (n = 12) in a physical education teacher education (PETE) program with a healthy and active lifestyle management (HALM) focus, at a university in the Intermountain West. The purpose of the study was to examine PETE students' perceptions of a healthy and active lifestyle (HAL). Following inductive content…

  20. Healthy Lifestyle Changes and Academic Improvement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Yvette Gail

    2018-01-01

    Many children in U.S. K-12 schools struggle with childhood obesity. A healthy lifestyle taught in a child's early years is essential for student learning, and it can set the pace for healthy choices to be made in adulthood. The purpose of this exploratory case study was to explore the experiences of parents in Montgomery County, Ohio, who…

  1. Preschool Children's Healthy Lifestyles: South African Parents' and Preschool Staff Perceptions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daniels, Karen; Forinder, Ulla; Clarke, Marina; Snyman, Stefanus; Ringsberg, Karin C.

    2016-01-01

    Background: The worldwide growth of non-communicable diseases requires important lifestyle adaptations. The earlier a healthy lifestyle is adopted, the better. Enabling a healthy lifestyle for children during the preschool years ideally involves the cooperation of parents and teachers. Health promotion with parents and teachers is most effective…

  2. Healthy Lifestyle During Early Pregnancy and Risk of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Badon, Sylvia E; Enquobahrie, Daniel A; Wartko, Paige D; Miller, Raymond S; Qiu, Chunfang; Gelaye, Bizu; Sorensen, Tanya K; Williams, Michelle A

    2017-08-01

    Previous studies have found associations between individual healthy behaviors and reduced risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM); however, the association of composite healthy lifestyle during pregnancy with GDM has not been examined. Participants in the Omega Study (n = 3,005), a pregnancy cohort study conducted in Washington State (1996-2008), reported information on diet, physical activity, smoking, and stress during early pregnancy. Lifestyle components were dichotomized into healthy/unhealthy and then combined into a total lifestyle score (range, 0-4). Regression models were used to determine relative risk of GDM (n = 140 cases) in relation to healthy lifestyle. Twenty percent of participants had a healthy diet, 66% were physically active, 95% were nonsmokers, and 55% had low stress. Each 1-point increase in lifestyle score was associated with a 21% lower risk of GDM (95% confidence interval: 0.65, 0.96) after adjustment for age, race, and nulliparity. Adjustment for prepregnancy body mass index, prepregnancy physical activity, and prepregnancy smoking attenuated the associations slightly. Associations were similar in normal-weight and overweight/obese women. In this study, a composite measure of healthy lifestyle during early pregnancy was associated with substantially lower GDM risk. Public health messaging and interventions promoting multiple aspects of a healthy lifestyle during early pregnancy should be considered for GDM prevention. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  3. Healthy lifestyle habits and mortality in overweight and obese individuals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matheson, Eric M; King, Dana E; Everett, Charles J

    2012-01-01

    Though the benefits of healthy lifestyle choices are well-established among the general population, less is known about how developing and adhering to healthy lifestyle habits benefits obese versus normal weight or overweight individuals. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between healthy lifestyle habits (eating 5 or more fruits and vegetables daily, exercising regularly, consuming alcohol in moderation, and not smoking) and mortality in a large, population-based sample stratified by body mass index (BMI). We examined the association between healthy lifestyle habits and mortality in a sample of 11,761 men and women from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III; subjects were ages 21 and older and fell at various points along the BMI scale, from normal weight to obese. Subjects were enrolled between October 1988 and October 1994 and were followed for an average of 170 months. After multivariable adjustment for age, sex, race, education, and marital status, the hazard ratios (95% CIs) for all-cause mortality for individuals who adhered to 0, 1, 2, or 3 healthy habits were 3.27 (2.36-4.54), 2.59 (2.06-3.25), 1.74 (1.51-2.02), and 1.29 (1.09-1.53), respectively, relative to individuals who adhered to all 4 healthy habits. When stratified into normal weight, overweight, and obese groups, all groups benefited from the adoption of healthy habits, with the greatest benefit seen within the obese group. Healthy lifestyle habits are associated with a significant decrease in mortality regardless of baseline body mass index.

  4. Virtual coaches for healthy lifestyle

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    op den Akker, Hendrikus J.A.; Klaassen, Randy; Nijholt, Antinus; Esposito, Anna; Jain, Lakhmi C.

    2016-01-01

    Since the introduction of the idea of the software interface agent the question recurs whether these agents should be personified and graphically visualized in the interface. In this chapter we look at the use of virtual humans in the interface of healthy lifestyle coaching systems. Based on theory

  5. Nurses' lifestyle behaviours, health priorities and barriers to living a healthy lifestyle: a qualitative descriptive study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phiri, Lindokuhle P; Draper, Catherine E; Lambert, Estelle V; Kolbe-Alexander, Tracy L

    2014-01-01

    Nurses have an increased risk for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), along with a high prevalence of obesity, poor eating habits and insufficient physical activity. The aim of this study was to determine the health concerns, health priorities and barriers to living a healthy lifestyle among nurses and hospital management staff from public hospitals in the Western Cape Metropole, South Africa. Participants were purposively sampled (n = 103), and included management personnel (n = 9), night shift (n = 57) and day-shift nurses (n = 36). Twelve focus groups (FGDs) were conducted with nursing staff to obtain insight into nurses' health concerns, lifestyle behaviours and worksite health promotion programmes (WHPPs). Seven key informant interviews (KII) were conducted with management personnel, to gain their perspective on health promotion in the worksite. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data with the assistance of Atlas.ti Qualitative Data Analysis Software. Night shift nurses frequently identified weight gain and living with NCDs such as hypertension as their main health concerns. Being overweight was perceived to have a negative impact on work performance. All nurses identified backache and exposure to tuberculosis (TB) as occupation-related health concerns, and both management and nurses frequently reported a stressful working environment. Nurses frequently mentioned lack of time to prepare healthy meals due to long working hours and being overtired from work. The hospital environment was perceived to have a negative influence on the nurses' lifestyle behaviours, including food service that offered predominantly unhealthy foods. The most commonly delivered WHPPs included independent counselling services, an online employee wellness programme offered by the Department of Health and wellness days in which clinical measures, such as blood glucose were measured. Nurses identified a preference for WHPPs that provided access to fitness facilities or

  6. Health promotion in the trucking setting: Understanding Dutch truck drivers' road to healthy lifestyle changes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boeijinga, Anniek; Hoeken, Hans; Sanders, José

    2016-10-17

    The working environment, the nature of the work, and the characteristics of truck drivers as a social group typically pose great challenges for the truck drivers' health and health promotion activities aiming to improve it. The purpose was to obtain a better understanding of (a) Dutch truck drivers' perceptions of health and lifestyle themes, and (b) the challenges they experience in their pursuit of a more healthy lifestyle, as a guiding framework for the development of health interventions targeting this occupational group. In this qualitative study, we conducted and analyzed 20 semi-structured interviews and seven cases of participant observations with Dutch truck drivers. Grounded theory was used to analyze the data. Our findings illustrate that Dutch truck drivers wish to improve their lifestyle but have unproductive associations with concepts of healthy living as well as a tendency to downplay their health risks. In addition, they experience barriers within their work and personal environment that prevent them from translating their intentions into actual lifestyle changes. Based on the insights derived from the interviews, we discuss recommendations for the development of more effective health promotion interventions for truck drivers.

  7. The FINUT healthy lifestyles guide: Beyond the food pyramid.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gil, Angel; Ruiz-Lopez, Maria Dolores; Fernandez-Gonzalez, Miguel; Martinez de Victoria, Emilio

    2014-05-01

    The WHO has proposed that health be promoted and protected through the development of an environment that enables sustainable actions at individual, community, national, and global levels. Indeed, food-based dietary guidelines, i.e., food pyramids, have been developed in numerous countries to disseminate nutritional information to the general population. However, wider recommendations are needed, with information on an active healthy lifestyle, not just healthy eating. The objective of the present work is to propose a three-dimensional pyramid as a new strategy for promoting adequate nutrition and active healthy lifestyles in a sustainable way. Indeed, the Iberoamerican Nutrition Foundation (FINUT) pyramid of healthy lifestyles has been designed as a tetrahedron, with its 3 lateral faces corresponding to the facets of food and nutrition, physical activity and rest, and education and hygiene. Each lateral face is divided into 2 triangles. These faces show the following: 1) food-based guidelines and healthy eating habits as related to a sustainable environment; 2) recommendations for rest and physical activity and educational, social, and cultural issues; and 3) selected hygiene and educational guidelines that, in conjunction with the other 2 faces, would contribute to better health for people in a sustainable planet. The new FINUT pyramid is addressed to the general population of all ages and should serve as a guide for living a healthy lifestyle within a defined social and cultural context. It includes an environmental and sustainability dimension providing measures that should contribute to the prevention of noncommunicable chronic diseases. © 2014 American Society for Nutrition.

  8. [The finut healthy lifestyles guide: beyond the food pyramid].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gil, Angel; Ruiz-Lopez, Maria Dolores; Fernandez-Gonzalez, Miguel; Martinez de Victoria, Emilio

    2015-05-01

    The World Health Organization has proposed that health be promoted and protected through the development of an environment that enables sustainable actions at individual, community, national and global levels. Indeed, food-based dietary guidelines, i.e., food pyramids, have been developed in numerous countries to disseminate nutritional information to the general population. However, wider recommendations are needed, with information on an active, healthy lifestyle, not just healthy eating. The objective of the present work is to propose a three-dimensional pyramid as a new strategy for promoting adequate nutrition and active healthy lifestyles in a sustainable way. Indeed, the Iberomerican Nutrition Foundation (FINUT) pyramid of healthy lifestyles has been designed as a tetrahedron, its three lateral faces corresponding to the binomials food and nutrition, physical activity and rest, and education and hygiene. Each lateral face is divided into two triangles. These faces show the following: 1. food-based guidelines and healthy eating habits as related to a sustainable environment; 2. recommendations for rest and physical activity and educational, social and cultural issues; 3. selected hygiene and educational guidelines that, in conjunction with the other two faces, would contribute to better health and provide measures to promote environmental sustainability. The new FINUT pyramid is addressed to the general population of all ages and should serve as a guide for living a healthy lifestyle within a defined social and cultural context. It includes an environmental and sustainability dimension providing measures that should contribute to the prevention of non-communicable chronic diseases. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

  9. Urban Diabetic Women’s Perception of Healthy Eating Lifestyles from West Java

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mayumi Mizutani

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to explore perceptions about a healthy-eating lifestyle and reasons to practice a healthy-eating lifestyle of women with type 2 diabetes in a city of West Java by using a case study design. Six female patients, with type 2 diabetes, ages 47–63 from a hospital were interviewed guided by the health promotion model. Their healthy-eating lifestyle included currently practicing or not practicing a healthy-eating lifestyle. Reasons to practice were: beliefs for health and for physical energy to work for family, definition of multidimensional health and self-efficacy increased by: support from God, support from family, support from health professionals and improved or deteriorated health status by prior experience. Reasons not to practice were: difficulty in arranging diet, rejecting eating, controlling appetite, and accessing health care services. Related difficulties were interpersonal relations with family and social situation such as social events, expensive medical fee, and distance to the hospital. These findings suggest that women with type 2 diabetes in Indonesia need to be supported with the reasons to practice a healthy-eating lifestyle.

  10. Utilizing Technology to Encourage Healthy Lifestyles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cynthia Shuster

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available In our fast paced world, using technology allows us to connect with people and assist them in developing healthier lifestyles within their time limits due to families, work, and other responsibilities. The goal of our project was the development of online, technology-based, nutrition, health, and fitness education challenges using social media as a means of helping consumers develop healthy lifestyle changes. Participants completed preassessments and postassessments to determine overall program impact and to self-report perceptions of knowledge gained and practice/behavior change. Results from the challenges indicated participants gained knowledge on nutrition, health and fitness topics while making strides towards lifestyle changes and adoption of healthy habits. Results revealed healthier eating habits were developed and physical activity was increased with many participants losing weight. Ease of participating was the most reported reason for participating in the challenges. To determine “best practice,” varying lengths of time for the challenges from four, seven, and thirteen weeks allowed the educators to derive implications for future programming, including branding, length of the challenge, frequency, and participant behavior change. To remain relevant and reach a greater diversity of populations, educators need to continue to explore and utilize various social media tools.

  11. Organic food as a healthy lifestyle: A phenomenological psychological analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Von Essen, Elisabeth; Englander, Magnus

    2013-01-01

    This study explored the phenomenon of the lived experience of choosing a healthy lifestyle based upon an organic diet as seen from the perspective of the young adult. Interviews were collected in Sweden and analyzed using the descriptive phenomenological psychological research method. The results showed the general psychological structure of the phenomenon, comprising four constituents: (1) the lived body as the starting point for life exploration, (2) a narrative self through emotional-relational food memories, (3) a conscious life strategy for well-being and vitality, and (4) a personal set of values in relation to ethical standards. The results provide plausible insights into the intricate relation between psychological meaning and the natural world. PMID:23769652

  12. Culture and healthy lifestyles: a qualitative exploration of the role of food and physical activity in three urban Australian Indigenous communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crowe, Ruth; Stanley, Rebecca; Probst, Yasmine; McMahon, Anne

    2017-08-01

    1) To explore the links between Indigenous Australian children's perspectives on culture, and healthy lifestyle behaviours. 2) To provide insight into how to approach the development of a health intervention targeting lifestyle behaviours in Australian Indigenous children. Seven semi-structured focus groups sessions were conducted with Australian Indigenous children aged 5-12 years living on the South Coast of New South Wales. Audio-recordings were transcribed and thematic analyses were conducted and related to principles of grounded theory. Participants had connections to aspects of Australian Indigenous culture that were embedded in their everyday lives. Healthy lifestyle behaviours (such as healthy eating and physical activity) were found to be interconnected with Australian Indigenous culture and positive emotional wellbeing was identified as an important outcome of connecting Australian Indigenous children to cultural practices. Understanding the importance of culture and its role in healthy lifestyles is critical in the development of health interventions for Indigenous populations. Health interventions embedded with Australian Indigenous culture may have potential to improve physical and emotional health within Australian Indigenous communities. However, it is unlikely that a 'one size fits all' approach to health interventions can be taken. © 2017 The Authors.

  13. Changes in healthy childhood lifestyle behaviors in Japanese rural areas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakano, Takahiro; Kasuga, Kosho; Murase, Tomohiko; Suzuki, Kazuhiro

    2013-04-01

    Unhealthy lifestyles during childhood constitute a public health problem in Japan. However, current health education in Japan is ineffective in counteracting them. Previous studies contend that healthy lifestyles in children vary by academic grade and sex. This study examined changes throughout childhood suggests some intervention points for lifestyle education. The participants were 2833 elementary and junior high school students living in Japanese rural areas. Data on 26 variables assigned to 5 subfactors were collected. We estimated the composite score of each subfactor on the basis of item response theory. A 2-way ANOVA and a graph review were performed to explore the differences and changes by sex and grade. Most of the main effects for sex and grade were statistically significant. Lifestyle behaviors acquired early in elementary school were lost as students progressed to higher grades. The research indicated the following emphases: (1) Physical activity and leisure habits should be focused on girls and hygiene habits on boys; (2) Continuous education for a healthy lifestyle is essential to maintain good health among children; (3) Education for healthy lifestyle can be classified into 2 important stages such as for dietary and sleeping habits, education from the upper grades of elementary school is important, whereas for other routine activities, reeducation in junior high school is effective. © 2013, American School Health Association.

  14. Women's attitudes towards a pre-conception healthy lifestyle programme.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Funk, K L; LeBlanc, E S; Vesco, K K; Stevens, V J

    2015-04-01

    Nearly half of US women begin pregnancy overweight or obese and more than half of overweight or obese pregnant women experience excessive gestational weight gain. Recent lifestyle intervention programmes have helped women avoid excessive weight gain during pregnancy, but helping women lose weight before pregnancy may be a more effective way to improve pregnancy outcomes. This study assessed women's attitudes towards pre-conception diet and weight management interventions. An anonymous survey was conducted in patients waiting in a health maintenance organization's obstetrics and primary care waiting rooms. It focused on attitudes towards participating in a pre-conception, lifestyle change programme. Eighty percent of the 126 women surveyed were pregnant or considering pregnancy within 5 years. Of the 126 respondents, 60 (48%) were overweight or obese. Of these, 96% rated healthy diet and healthy weight before pregnancy as very important or important and 77% favoured a healthy lifestyle programme (diet, weight management and physical activity) before becoming pregnant. Likewise, overweight or obese women reported being likely or highly likely to participate in specific intervention programme aspects such as keeping phone appointments (77%), using a programme website (70%) and keeping food and exercise records (63%). Survey results show that women in this population believe that adopting a healthy lifestyle and losing weight are important before pregnancy and that they are enthusiastic about programmes that will help them achieve those goals in preparation for pregnancy. © 2015 World Obesity.

  15. Perceptions on healthy eating, physical activity and lifestyle advice: opportunities for adapting lifestyle interventions to individuals with low socioeconomic status.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bukman, Andrea J; Teuscher, Dorit; Feskens, Edith J M; van Baak, Marleen A; Meershoek, Agnes; Renes, Reint Jan

    2014-10-04

    Individuals with low socioeconomic status (SES) are generally less well reached through lifestyle interventions than individuals with higher SES. The aim of this study was to identify opportunities for adapting lifestyle interventions in such a way that they are more appealing for individuals with low SES. To this end, the study provides insight into perspectives of groups with different socioeconomic positions regarding their current eating and physical activity behaviour; triggers for lifestyle change; and ways to support lifestyle change. Data were gathered in semi-structured focus group interviews among low SES (four groups) and high SES (five groups) adults. The group size varied between four and nine participants. The main themes discussed were perceptions and experiences of healthy eating, physical activity and lifestyle advice. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and a thematic approach was used to analyse the data. In general, three key topics were identified, namely: current lifestyle is logical for participants given their personal situation; lifestyle change is prompted by feedback from their body; and support for lifestyle change should include individually tailored advice and could profit from involving others. The perceptions of the low SES participants were generally comparable to the perceptions shared by the high SES participants. Some perceptions were, however, especially shared in the low SES groups. Low SES participants indicated that their current eating behaviour was sometimes affected by cost concerns. They seemed to be especially motivated to change their lifestyle when they experienced health complaints, but were rather hesitant to change their lifestyle for preventive purposes. Regarding support for lifestyle change, low SES participants preferred to receive advice in a group rather than on their own. For physical activities, groups should preferably consist of persons of the same age, gender or physical condition. To motivate

  16. Barriers to a healthy lifestyle post gestational-diabetes: An Australian qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zulfiqar, Tehzeeb; Lithander, Fiona E; Banwell, Cathy; Young, Rosemary; Boisseau, Lynelle; Ingle, Martha; Nolan, Christopher J

    2017-08-01

    Overseas-born-women from certain ethnicities are at high risk of type-2 diabetes and related metabolic disorders. This study explored the barriers and facilitators to long-term healthy lifestyle recommendations among Australian-born and overseas-born-women who attended health promotion sessions at a tertiary Australian Hospital for gestational diabetes 3-4 years previously. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted. Data were analyzed to identify major themes and the differing experiences of both groups of women. Women in both groups faced many barriers to improve post-gestational-diabetes lifestyle. Women from both groups recalled healthy lifestyle recommendations for during pregnancy they received at the service, but had difficulty recalling the long-term lifestyle recommendations. Timing of the health information, non-reiteration of lifestyle recommendations, uncoordinated and fragmented health system support after childbirth were barriers faced by all women. Additional barriers for overseas-born women included the cultural competence of the health education material, their cultural preferences for food and physical activities and unsupportive family and partner. Both groups had excellent compliance with the first annual postnatal oral-glucose-tolerance-test. This was attributed to the personal motivation and health professional reminder. Women only reverted to the healthy lifestyles postnatally for weight loss. A better understanding of the barriers to healthy lifestyle by women in their everyday lives will assist in the development of culturally appropriate health promotion guidelines and strategies. Constant un-fragmented postnatal engagement by the specialised diabetes clinics and primary health care services is crucial to sustain the healthy lifestyle in the long-term for women with previous gestational-diabetes. Copyright © 2017 Australian College of Midwives. All rights reserved.

  17. [On motivations of adolescents to promote a healthy lifestyle].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bal, L V; Mikhailov, A N; Gundarov, I A

    2014-01-01

    There was studied the motivation of modern adolescents to promote healthy lifestyle. There were observed two arrays, including adolescent-schoolchildren aged 16-17 and 13-14 years in Moscow. The results showed that health occupied one of the first places among the positive motivations, being stable dominant in the period of 13-17 years. The real motivation for a healthy lifestyle coincides with the perspective and informed choice coincides with the life goals. In this, almost all of the identified negative motivation are "manageable", available to be modified or eliminated.

  18. Healthy lifestyle in the primordial prevention of cardiovascular disease among young women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chomistek, Andrea K; Chiuve, Stephanie E; Eliassen, A Heather; Mukamal, Kenneth J; Willett, Walter C; Rimm, Eric B

    2015-01-06

    Overall mortality rates from coronary heart disease (CHD) in the United States have declined in recent decades, but the rate has plateaued among younger women. The potential for further reductions in mortality rates among young women through changes in lifestyle is unknown. The aim of this study was to estimate the proportion of CHD cases and clinical cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors among young women that might be attributable to poor adherence to a healthy lifestyle. A prospective analysis was conducted among 88,940 women ages 27 to 44 years at baseline in the Nurses' Health Study II who were followed from 1991 to 2011. Lifestyle factors were updated repeatedly by questionnaire. A healthy lifestyle was defined as not smoking, a normal body mass index, physical activity ≥ 2.5 h/week, television viewing ≤ 7 h/week, diet in the top 40% of the Alternative Healthy Eating Index-2010, and 0.1 to 14.9 g/day of alcohol. To estimate the proportion of CHD and clinical CVD risk factors (diabetes, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia) that could be attributed to poor adherence to a healthy lifestyle, we calculated the population-attributable risk percent. During 20 years of follow-up, we documented 456 incident CHD cases. In multivariable-adjusted models, nonsmoking, a healthy body mass index, exercise, and a healthy diet were independently and significantly associated with lower CHD risk. Compared with women with no healthy lifestyle factors, the hazard ratio for CHD for women with 6 lifestyle factors was 0.08 (95% confidence interval: 0.03 to 0.22). Approximately 73% (95% confidence interval: 39% to 89%) of CHD cases were attributable to poor adherence to a healthy lifestyle. Similarly, 46% (95% confidence interval: 43% to 49%) of clinical CVD risk factor cases were attributable to a poor lifestyle. Primordial prevention through maintenance of a healthy lifestyle among young women may substantially lower the burden of CVD. Copyright © 2015 American College

  19. Combined Healthy Lifestyle Is Inversely Associated with Psychological Disorders among Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saneei, Parvane; Esmaillzadeh, Ahmad; Keshteli, Ammar Hassanzadeh; Reza Roohafza, Hamid; Afshar, Hamid; Feizi, Awat; Adibi, Peyman

    2016-01-01

    Joint association of lifestyle-related factors and mental health has been less studied in earlier studies, especially in Middle Eastern countries. This study aimed to examine how combinations of several lifestyle-related factors related to depression and anxiety in a large group of middle-age Iranian population. In a cross-sectional study on 3363 Iranian adults, a healthy lifestyle score was constructed by the use of data from dietary intakes, physical activity, smoking status, psychological distress and obesity. A dish-based 106-item semi-quantitative validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), General Practice Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPPAQ), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and other pre-tested questionnaires were used to assess the components of healthy lifestyle score. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was applied to screen for anxiety and depression. After adjustment for potential confounders, we found that individuals with the highest score of healthy lifestyle were 95% less likely to be anxious (OR: 0.05; 95% CI: 0.01-0.27) and 96% less likely to be depressed (OR: 0.04; 95% CI: 0.01-0.15), compared with those with the lowest score. In addition, non-smokers had lower odds of anxiety (OR: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.47-0.88) and depression (OR: 0.62; 95% CI: 0.48-0.81) compared with smokers. Individuals with low levels of psychological distress had expectedly lower odds of anxiety (OR: 0.13; 95% CI: 0.10-0.16) and depression (OR: 0.10; 95% CI: 0.08-0.12) than those with high levels. Individuals with a healthy diet had 29% lower odds of depression (OR: 0.71; 95% CI: 0.59-0.87) than those with a non-healthy diet. We found evidence indicating that healthy lifestyle score was associated with lower odds of anxiety and depression in this group of Iranian adults. Healthy diet, psychological distress, and smoking status were independent predictors of mental disorders.

  20. Barriers to healthy-lifestyle participation in stroke: consumer participation in secondary prevention design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lennon, Olive C; Doody, Catherine; Ni Choisdealbh, Cliodhna; Blake, Catherine

    2013-12-01

    The aim of the study was to explore community-dwelling stroke patients' perceived barriers to healthy-lifestyle participation for secondary disease prevention, as well as their preferred means for risk-reduction information dissemination and motivators to participation in healthy-lifestyle interventions. Four focus groups (5-6 stroke survivors per group) were defined from community support groups. Key questions addressed barriers to healthy-lifestyle adoption, preferred methods for receiving information and factors that would engage participants in a risk-reduction programme. Groups were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim and analysed for thematic content using a framework approach. Twenty-two participants, 12 men, 10 women, mean age 71.4 (53-87) years, were included in the study. Three overarching themes emerged as barriers to healthy-lifestyle participation: physical, mental and environmental. Exercise participation difficulties spread across all three themes; healthy eating and smoking cessation concentrated in environmental and mental dimensions. Talks (discussions) were noted as participants' preferred method of information provision. Risk-reduction programmes considered attractive were stroke specific, convenient and delivered by healthcare professionals and involved both social and exercise components. Many stroke patients appear unable to adopt healthy-lifestyle changes through advice alone because of physical, mental and environmental barriers. Risk-reduction programmes including interactive education should be specifically tailored to address barriers currently experienced and extend beyond the stroke survivor to others in their environment who influence lifestyle choices.

  1. Healthy lifestyle behaviour among Ghanaian adults in the phase of a health policy change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dake Fidelia AA

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Many countries have adopted health policies that are targeted at reducing the risk factors for chronic non-communicable diseases. These policies promote a healthy population by encouraging people to adopt healthy lifestyle behaviours. This paper examines healthy lifestyle behaviour among Ghanaian adults by comparing behaviours before and after the introduction of a national health policy. The paper also explores the socio-economic and demographic factors associated with healthy lifestyle behaviour. Method Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate regression techniques were employed on two nationally representative surveys (2003 World Health Survey (Ghana and 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey to arrive at the results. Results While the prevalence of some negative lifestyle behaviours like smoking has reduced others like alcohol consumption has increased. Relatively fewer people adhered to consuming the recommended amount of fruit and vegetable servings per day in 2008 compared to 2003. While more females (7.0% exhibited healthier lifestyles, more males (9.0% exhibited risky lifestyle behaviours after the introduction of the policy. Conclusion The improvement in healthy lifestyle behaviours among female adult Ghanaians will help promote healthy living and potentially lead to a reduction in the prevalence of obesity among Ghanaian women. The increase in risky lifestyle behaviour among adult male Ghanaians even after the introduction of the health policy could lead to an increase in the risk of non-communicable diseases among men and the resultant burden of disease on them and their families will push more people into poverty.

  2. Healthy Lifestyle Characteristics and Their Joint Association With Cardiovascular Disease Biomarkers in US Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loprinzi, Paul D; Branscum, Adam; Hanks, June; Smit, Ellen

    2016-04-01

    To estimate the prevalence of healthy lifestyle characteristics and to examine the association between different combinations of healthy lifestyle characteristics and cardiovascular disease biomarkers. The prevalence of healthy lifestyle characteristics was estimated for the US adult population (N=4745) using 2003-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data for the following parameters: being sufficiently active (accelerometer), eating a healthy diet (Healthy Eating Index based on 24-hour recalls), being a nonsmoker (serum cotinine level), and having a recommended body fat percentage (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry). Cardiovascular biomarkers included mean arterial pressure, C-reactive protein, white blood cells (WBCs), total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), total cholesterol to HDL-C ratio, fasting low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting triglycerides, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, insulin resistance, hemoglobin A1c, and homocysteine. The study was conducted from August 15, 2013, through January 5, 2016. Only 2.7% (95% CI, 1.9%-3.4%) of all adults had all 4 healthy lifestyle characteristics. Participants with 3 or 4 compared with 0 healthy lifestyle characteristics had more favorable biomarker levels except for mean arterial blood pressure, fasting glucose, and hemoglobin A1c. Having at least 1 or 2 compared with 0 healthy lifestyle characteristics was favorably associated with C-reactive protein, WBCs, HDL-C, total cholesterol, and homocysteine. For HDL-C and total cholesterol, the strongest correlate was body fat percentage. For homocysteine, a healthy diet and not smoking were strong correlates; for WBCs, diet was not a strong correlate. Although multiple healthy lifestyle characteristics are important, specific health characteristics may be more important for particular cardiovascular disease risk factors. Copyright © 2016 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Published by Elsevier Inc. All

  3. Healthy lifestyle index and risk of gastric adenocarcinoma in the EPIC cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buckland, G; Travier, N; Huerta, J M; Bueno-de-Mesquita, H B As; Siersema, P D; Skeie, G; Weiderpass, E; Engeset, D; Ericson, U; Ohlsson, B; Agudo, A; Romieu, I; Ferrari, P; Freisling, H; Colorado-Yohar, S; Li, K; Kaaks, R; Pala, V; Cross, A J; Riboli, E; Trichopoulou, A; Lagiou, P; Bamia, C; Boutron-Ruault, M C; Fagherazzi, G; Dartois, L; May, A M; Peeters, P H; Panico, S; Johansson, M; Wallner, B; Palli, D; Key, T J; Khaw, K T; Ardanaz, E; Overvad, K; Tjønneland, A; Dorronsoro, M; Sánchez, M J; Quirós, J R; Naccarati, A; Tumino, R; Boeing, H; Gonzalez, C A

    2015-08-01

    Several modifiable lifestyle factors, including smoking, alcohol, certain dietary factors and weight are independently associated with gastric cancer (GC); however, their combined impact on GC risk is unknown. We constructed a healthy lifestyle index to investigate the joint influence of these behaviors on GC risk within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort. The analysis included 461,550 participants (662 first incident GC cases) with a mean follow-up of 11.4 years. A healthy lifestyle index was constructed, assigning 1 point for each healthy behavior related to smoking status, alcohol consumption and diet quality (represented by the Mediterranean diet) for assessing overall GC and also body mass index for cardia GC and 0 points otherwise. Risk of GC was calculated using Cox proportional hazards regression models while adjusting for relevant confounders. The highest versus lowest score in the healthy lifestyle index was associated with a significant lower risk of GC, by 51% overall (HR 0.49 95% CI 0.35, 0.70), by 77% for cardia GC (HR 0.23 95% CI 0.08, 0.68) and by 47% for noncardia GC (HR 0.53 (95% CI 0.32, 0.87), p-trendshealthy lifestyle behaviors of this index. Adopting several healthy lifestyle behaviors including not smoking, limiting alcohol consumption, eating a healthy diet and maintaining a normal weight is associated with a large decreased risk of GC. © 2014 UICC.

  4. Healthy lifestyle: Perceptions and attitudes of students (the results of a focus group research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zh V Puzanova

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The article presents the results of the research conducted in December 2013 at the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia with the method of focus groups. The study aimed at identification not only the differences in understanding healthy lifestyles among students and their attitudes to a healthy lifestyle, but also its components, obstacles for the realization and opportunities to overcome them. The focus group research was just another stage of the project aimed at studying health and healthy lifestyles as values and the characteristics of the formation and manifestation of a health-preserving behavior. Despite many opportunities to motivate a health-preserving behavior among students, we still see obstacles for its formation due to both social and cultural characteristics. The study revealed that the value of health at this stage of life is rather declarative: only a small percentage of respondents are fully aware of the necessity of a health-preserving behavior and do really adopt a healthy lifestyle. The basic factors influencing the formation of the healthy lifestyle among the youth are the family, social environment and mass media. The respondents, in particular, confirm the significant impact of their social circle on the commitment to the bad habits as well as to healthy hobbies. The main factors hindering the healthy lifestyles among students include lack of free time, welfare, Internet addiction, lack of sufficient motivation and self-organization.

  5. Transforming cardiac rehabilitation into broad-based healthy lifestyle programs to combat noncommunicable disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arena, Ross; Lavie, Carl J; Cahalin, Lawrence P; Briggs, Paige D; Guizilini, Solange; Daugherty, John; Chan, Wai-Man; Borghi-Silva, Audrey

    2016-01-01

    The current incidence and prevalence of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) is currently a cause for great concern on a global scale; future projections are no less disconcerting. Unhealthy lifestyle patterns are at the core of the NCD crisis; physical inactivity, excess body mass, poor nutrition and tobacco use are the primary lifestyle factors that substantially increase the risk of developing one or more NCDs. We have now come to recognize that healthy lifestyle interventions are a medical necessity that should be prescribed to all individuals. Perhaps the most well-established model for healthy lifestyle interventions in the current healthcare model is cardiac rehabilitation. To have any hope of improving the outlook for NCDs on a global scale, what is currently known as cardiac rehabilitation must transform into broad-based healthy lifestyle programing, with a shifted focus on primordial and primary prevention.

  6. Changes in Healthy Childhood Lifestyle Behaviors in Japanese Rural Areas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakano, Takahiro; Kasuga, Kosho; Murase, Tomohiko; Suzuki, Kazuhiro

    2013-01-01

    Background: Unhealthy lifestyles during childhood constitute a public health problem in Japan. However, current health education in Japan is ineffective in counteracting them. Previous studies contend that healthy lifestyles in children vary by academic grade and sex. This study examined changes throughout childhood suggests some intervention…

  7. Healthy lifestyles and school life

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Circe Sánchez-Rodríguez

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Promoting a culture in health not only towards the physical but mental health of the human being is a priority in the training of the professionals of the Preschool Education, evidenced in the diagnosis implemented, that provided the necessary information of the real and desired state in terms of the insufficiencies that present the students of 1st, 2nd and 3rd year of the day course of the Degree in Pre-school Education; in their lifestyles for the formation of coexistence in the university context. It demonstrates the need to develop an educational strategy that contributes to the formation of coexistence based on the promotion of healthy lifestyles, which in the hands of teachers will help to transform the behavioral attitudes of students, which will allow them to interact in a positive way with society and be better people and professionals.

  8. Technology-based intervention for healthy lifestyle promotion in Italian adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fraticelli, Federica; Marchetti, Daniela; Polcini, Francesco; Mohn, Angelika Anna; Chiarelli, Francesco; Fulcheri, Mario; Vitacolonna, Ester

    2016-01-01

    Healthy lifestyle promotion programs are essential to prevent metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes. Adolescents could represent the ideal target population especially using serious web games. To test the improvement of knowledge about healthy nutrition in adolescents and to analyze participants' enjoyment in playing the web game "Gustavo in Gnam's Planet" in comparison with a leisure web game. Sixty-five adolescents were engaged in three supervised group sessions. Measures about healthy food knowledge and games' enjoyment were collected during the three stages of assessment. After playing Gustavo in Gnam's Planet, participants significantly improved their knowledge on a healthy diet, compared to the recreational web games; whereas the level of fun experienced while playing the recreational and the educational games was not significantly different. Gustavo in Gnam's Planet is an important promising tool, with entertainment property, to promote a healthy lifestyle in Italian adolescents.

  9. Acculturation and Healthy Lifestyle Among Latinos With Diabetes

    OpenAIRE

    Mainous, Arch G.; Diaz, Vanessa A.; Geesey, Mark E.

    2008-01-01

    PURPOSE Latinos have a high prevalence of diabetes and disproportionately experience diabetic complications. We sought to examine the association of acculturation on healthy lifestyle habits among the Latino population in the United States with diabetes.

  10. [The general methodological approaches identifying strategic positions in developing healthy lifestyle of population].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dorofeev, S B; Babenko, A I

    2017-01-01

    The article deals with analysis of national and international publications concerning methodological aspects of elaborating systematic approach to healthy life-style of population. This scope of inquiry plays a key role in development of human capital. The costs related to healthy life-style are to be considered as personal investment into future income due to physical incrementation of human capital. The definitions of healthy life-style, its categories and supportive factors are to be considered in the process of development of strategies and programs of healthy lifestyle. The implementation of particular strategies entails application of comprehensive information and educational programs meant for various categories of population. Therefore, different motivation techniques are to be considered for children, adolescents, able-bodied population, the elderly. This approach is to be resulted in establishing particular responsibility for national government, territorial administrations, health care administrations, employers and population itself. The necessity of complex legislative measures is emphasized. The recent social hygienic studies were focused mostly on particular aspects of development of healthy life-style of population. Hence, the demand for long term exploration of development of organizational and functional models implementing medical preventive measures on the basis of comprehensive information analysis using statistical, sociological and professional expertise.

  11. Healthy lifestyle status, antihypertensive treatment and the risk of heart failure among Finnish men and women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yujie; Tuomilehto, Jaakko; Jousilahti, Pekka; Antikainen, Riitta; Mähönen, Markku; Katzmarzyk, Peter T; Hu, Gang

    2013-11-01

    To compare the association between antihypertensive drug treatment and heart failure (HF) risk with the association between engaging in a healthy lifestyle and HF risk. We prospectively investigated the single and joint associations of lifestyle factors and awareness, treatment, blood pressure control status with HF risk among 38 075 Finns, who were 25-74 years old and free of HF at baseline. During a median follow-up of 14.1 years, 638 men and 445 women developed HF. Engaging in a healthy lifestyle was associated with an decreased risk of HF. Compared with normotensive people, hypertensive patients with and without antihypertensive treatment had a higher risk of HF. Hypertensive patients who used antihypertensive drugs but did not engage in a healthy lifestyle had a significantly higher risk of HF [HR 1.75; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.39-2.21] than hypertensive patients who did not use antihypertensive drugs but engaged in a healthy lifestyle. In addition, compared with hypertensive patients who used antihypertensive drugs and engaged in a healthy lifestyle, hypertensive patients who did not use antihypertensive drug or engage in a healthy lifestyle had a significantly higher risk of HF (HR 1.55; 95% CI 1.24-1.95). The present study demonstrates that HF risk was lower in hypertensive patients who engaged in a healthy lifestyle but higher in hypertensive people using antihypertensive drug treatment.

  12. Primary prevention of stroke by a healthy lifestyle in a high-risk group.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larsson, Susanna C; Åkesson, Agneta; Wolk, Alicja

    2015-06-02

    To examine the impact of a healthy lifestyle on stroke risk in men at higher risk of stroke because of other cardiovascular diseases or conditions. Our study population comprised 11,450 men in the Cohort of Swedish Men who had a history of hypertension, high cholesterol levels, diabetes, heart failure, or atrial fibrillation. Participants had completed a questionnaire about diet and lifestyle and were free from stroke and ischemic heart disease at baseline (January 1, 1998). We defined a healthy lifestyle as a low-risk diet (≥5 servings/d of fruits and vegetables and 0 to ≤30 g/d). Ascertainment of stroke cases was accomplished through linkage with the National Inpatient Register and the Swedish Cause of Death Register. During a mean follow-up of 9.8 years, we ascertained 1,062 incident stroke cases. The risk of total stroke and stroke types decreased with increasing number of healthy lifestyle factors. The multivariable relative risk of total stroke for men who achieved all 5 healthy lifestyle factors compared with men who achieved 0 or 1 factor was 0.28 (95% confidence interval 0.14-0.55). The corresponding relative risks (95% confidence interval) were 0.31 (0.15-0.66) for ischemic stroke and 0.32 (0.04-2.51) for hemorrhagic stroke. A healthy lifestyle is associated with a substantially reduced risk of stroke in men at higher risk of stroke. © 2015 American Academy of Neurology.

  13. Nurse provision of healthy lifestyle advice to people who are overweight or obese.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kable, Ashley; James, Carole; Snodgrass, Suzanne; Plotnikoff, Ronald; Guest, Maya; Ashby, Samantha; Oldmeadow, Christopher; Collins, Clare

    2015-12-01

    A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a regional area in Australia to measure nurses' perceptions, practices, and knowledge in regard to providing healthy lifestyle advice to people who are overweight or obese. Responses were compared between geographic regions. Participation was voluntary and anonymous. Of the 79 nurse participants, 68% considered that provision of healthy lifestyle advice was within their scope of practice. Only 28% reported frequently estimating body mass index in the practice setting. Nurses often recommended increasing activity levels (44%), but recommended reducing daily caloric intake less often (25%). Nurses' knowledge about weight management was variable and the proportion of correct answers to knowledge items ranged from 33-99%. Nurses have many opportunities to deliver healthy lifestyle advice in a range of practice settings. The variation in practices and knowledge of nurses indicates a need for improved healthy lifestyle education for undergraduate and practicing nurses. © 2015 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

  14. CAN EDUCATION THROUGH POSTER IMPROVE THE KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE OF PRESCHOOLERS ABOUT HEALTHY LIFESTYLE? IHHP-HHPC

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roya Kelishadi

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available AbstractINTRODUCTION: Lifelong behavior and risk factors of chronic diseases extend from earlylife to adulthood. It seems that dietary habits and unhealthy food consumption, as well aspassive smoking play an important role in the development of such diseases. Multiplestudies have shown that healthy lifestyle education in preschool children improves theirknowledge, attitude and practice about healthy lifestyle. This study was conducted toevaluate the effect of lifestyle education with educational posters in daycare centers onpreschool children.METHODS: In an interventional study, 250 preschool children were selected via 2-stagerandom cluster sampling and taught tips on healthy lifestyle via educational posters. Theirknowledge on healthy lifestyle was assessed before and after (1 week and 3 monthseducation via a picture-questionnaire, and their practice and behavior were assessed beforeand after education via their favorite choice of snack in daycare centers. Collected datawere analyzed using SPSS13 by paired t-test and Man Whitney test.RESULTS: The knowledge and practice scores of the studied subjects improvedsignificantly one week after intervention compared with baseline, and persisted until the thirdmonth after education.DISCUSSION: Healthy lifestyle education via poster for preschool children can significantlyimprove their knowledge and practice towards healthy lifestyle.Keywords • Healthy life style • Education • Preschool children

  15. Using Genograms Creatively to Promote Healthy Lifestyles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casado-Kehoe, Montserrat; Kehoe, Michael P.

    2007-01-01

    Family therapists have used genograms as an assessment tool for years to examine the interactions and relationships of family members across generations. This article discusses how a therapist can use a genogram creatively to help clients examine the impact of family relationships on healthy and unhealthy lifestyle patterns and how those…

  16. Effecting Healthy Lifestyle Changes in Overweight and Obese Young Adults with Intellectual Disability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pett, Marjorie; Clark, Lauren; Eldredge, Alison; Cardell, Beth; Jordan, Kristine; Chambless, Cathy; Burley, Jeff

    2013-01-01

    We evaluated a 12-week recreation center-based healthy lifestyle intervention for 30 obese home-dwelling young adults (YA) with intellectual disabilities. Three cohorts participated: YA only, YA and parents, and parents only. The YA cohorts received a nutrition/exercise intervention; parents focused on modeling healthy lifestyle behaviors.…

  17. In adult patients with type 1 diabetes healthy lifestyle associates with a better cardiometabolic profile.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leroux, C; Gingras, V; Desjardins, K; Brazeau, A-S; Ott-Braschi, S; Strychar, I; Rabasa-Lhoret, R

    2015-05-01

    Little is known about lifestyle habits of adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and their association with cardiometabolic risk (CMR) factors. The aims of the present study were to determine the prevalence of adults with T1D who adopted a healthy lifestyle and to explore the association between a healthy lifestyle and the cardiometabolic profile. This is a cross-sectional analysis of 115 adults with T1D. Participants wore a motion sensor and completed a 3-day food record. The following CMR factors were assessed: body mass index, waist circumference, body composition (iDXA), glycated hemoglobin, lipids and blood pressure. Insulin resistance was estimated (estimated glucose disposal rate). Participants were classified according to the number of healthy lifestyle habits adopted (ranging from 0 to 3): regular physical activity (physical activity level ≥1.7), good diet quality (Canadian Healthy Eating Index score >80) and none-smoking status. The proportion of participants who adopted 3, 2, 1 or 0 lifestyle habits were 11%, 30%, 37%, and 23%, respectively. As the number of healthy lifestyle habits adopted increased, participants had significantly lower body mass index, waist circumference, body fat, total cholesterol, non-HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides and systolic blood pressure (p healthy lifestyle habit, body mass index decreased by 1.9 kg/m(2), waist circumference by 4.0 cm for men and 4.8 cm for women and trunk fat by 3.6% for men and 4.1% for women. These results suggest the importance of a healthy lifestyle among adults with T1D in order to control CMR factors. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Institutionalization of a Multidisciplinary Healthy Lifestyles Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brookins-Fisher, Jodi; O'Boyle, Irene; Ivanitskaya, Lana

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of health education is to positively influence the health behavior of individuals and communities, as well as living and working conditions that affect health. The goal of a Healthy Lifestyles course that is offered to undergraduate students enrolled in a university general education program (e.g., liberal arts education, core…

  19. labour and healthy lifestyles in a developing economy

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LUCY

    economy. KEYWORDS: Labour, Healthy Lifestyles and Developing Economy ... sanitation, mechanism for coping with stress, use of alcohol ... to enhance or manage the economy. ... strategies that would improve their health status. ... results in improved productivity. ... hazardous conditions coupled with occupational stress ...

  20. Consumer Perspectives on Involving Family and Significant Others in a Healthy Lifestyle Intervention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aschbrenner, Kelly; Bartels, Stephen; Mueser, Kim; Carpenter-Song, Elizabeth; Kinney, Allison

    2012-01-01

    This focus group study explored the potential benefits and challenges of involving family members and significant others in a healthy lifestyle program for people with serious mental illness (SMI). Six focus group interviews were conducted with a total of 30 people with SMI, who were participants in a healthy lifestyle intervention. Separate focus…

  1. The combined effects of healthy lifestyle behaviors on all-cause mortality: The Golestan Cohort Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malekshah, Akbar Fazel-tabar; Zaroudi, Marsa; Etemadi, Arash; Islami, Farhad; Sepanlou, Sadaf; Sharafkhah, Maryam; Keshtkar, Abbas-Ali; Khademi, Hooman; Poustchi, Hossein; Hekmatdoost, Azita; Pourshams, Akram; Sani, Akbar Feiz; Jafari, Elham; Kamangar, Farin; Dawsey, Sanford M; Abnet, Christian C.; Pharoah, Paul D; Berennan, Paul J; Boffetta, Paolo; Esmaillzadeh, Ahmad; Malekzadeh, Reza

    2018-01-01

    Background Most studies that have assessed the association between combined lifestyle factors and mortality outcomes have been conducted in populations of developed countries. Objectives The aim of this study was to examine the association between combined lifestyle scores and risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality for the first time among Iranian adults. Methods The study population included 50,045 Iranians, 40–75 years of age, who were enrolled in the Golestan Cohort Study, between 2004 and 2008. The lifestyle risk factors used in this study included cigarette smoking, physical inactivity, and Alternative Healthy Eating Index. The lifestyle score ranged from zero (non-healthy) to 3 (most healthy) points. From the study baseline up to analysis, a total of 4691 mortality cases were recorded. Participants with chronic diseases at baseline, outlier reports of calorie intake, missing data, and body mass index of less than 18.5 were excluded from the analyses. Cox regression models were fitted to establish the association between combined lifestyle scores and mortality outcomes. Results After implementing the exclusion criteria, data from 40,708 participants were included in analyses. During 8.08 years of follow-up, 3,039 cases of death due to all causes were recorded. The adjusted hazard ratio of healthy life style score, compared with non-healthy lifestyle score, was 0.68(95% CI: 0.54, 0.86) for all-cause mortality, 0.53(95% CI: 0.37, 0.77) for cardiovascular mortality, and 0.82(95% CI: 0.53; 1.26) for mortality due to cancer. When we excluded the first two years of follow up from the analysis, the protective association between healthy lifestyle score and cardiovascular death did not change much 0.55 (95% CI: 0.36, 0.84), but the inverse association with all-cause mortality became weaker 0.72 (95% CI: 0.55, 0.94), and the association with cancer mortality was non-significant 0.92 (95% CI: 0.58, 1.48). In the gender-stratified analysis, we found an inverse

  2. The Healthy Lifestyles Programme (HeLP)--an overview of and recommendations arising from the conceptualisation and development of an innovative approach to promoting healthy lifestyles for children and their families.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lloyd, Jenny; Wyatt, Katrina

    2015-01-20

    Despite the rise in childhood obesity, there remains a paucity of evidence for effective interventions that engage children and parents sufficiently to make and sustain lifestyle behaviour change. The Healthy Lifestyles Programme (HeLP) is a school-located obesity prevention programme, which has been developed with teachers, families and healthcare professionals. The underpinning assumption in the development of HeLP was to take a relational approach to changing behaviour, building relationships with the schools, children and their families to create supportive environments for healthy lifestyle choices. Thus, HeLP was conceptualised as a complex intervention within a complex system and developed as a dynamic, evolving set of processes to support and motivate children towards healthy behaviours. The delivery methods used are highly interactive and encourage identification with and ownership of the healthy lifestyle messages so that the children are motivated to take them home to their parents and effect change within the family. We have good evidence that HeLP engages schools and children such that they want to participate in the Programme. Results from an exploratory trial showed that the Programme is feasible and acceptable and has the potential to change behaviours and affect weight status. This paper presents an overview of and recommendations arising from the conceptualization; development and evaluation of the Healthy Lifestyles Programme as part of a special issue focusing on novel approaches to the global problem of childhood obesity.

  3. Healthy lifestyle and leukocyte telomere length in U.S. women.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qi Sun

    Full Text Available Whether a healthy lifestyle may be associated with longer telomere length is largely unknown.To examine healthy lifestyle practices, which are primary prevention measures against major age-related chronic diseases, in relation to leukocyte telomere length.Cross-sectional analysis in the Nurses' Health Study (NHS.The population consisted of 5,862 women who participated in multiple prospective case-control studies within the NHS cohort. Z scores of leukocyte telomere length were derived within each case-control study. Based on prior work, we defined low-risk or healthy categories for five major modifiable factors assessed in 1988 or 1990: non-current smoking, maintaining a healthy body weight (body mass index in 18.5-24.9 kg/m(2, engaging in regular moderate or vigorous physical activities (≥150 minutes/week, drinking alcohol in moderation (1 drink/week to <2 drinks/day, and eating a healthy diet (Alternate Healthy Eating Index score in top 50%. We calculated difference (% of the z scores contrasting low-risk groups with reference groups to evaluate the association of interest.Although none of the individual low-risk factors was significantly associated with larger leukocyte telomere length z scores, we observed a significant, positive relationship between the number of low-risk factors and the z scores. In comparison with women who had zero low-risk factors (1.9% of the total population and were, therefore, considered the least healthy group, the leukocyte telomere length z scores were 16.4%, 22.1%, 28.7%, 22.6%, and 31.2% (P for trend = 0.015 higher for women who had 1 to 5 low-risk factors, respectively.Adherence to a healthy lifestyle, defined by major modifiable risk factors, was associated with longer telomere length in leukocytes.

  4. THE TEACHER’S HEALTHY LIFESTYLE FORMATION IN THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Елена Владимировна Лопуга

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available The article is devoted to representation of results of experimental work on formation of a healthy lifestyle of teachers with a various pedagogical experience in the conditions of professional development.Purpose: to analyse dynamics of formation of components of a healthy lifestyle and changes of levels of dominance of the relation to health and a healthy lifestyle in groups of teachers where the developed model of advanced training courses was applied.Methodology: express assessment of individual level of own health, testing of teachers, practical training on formation of an optimum motive stereotype, development of complexes of various exercises, development of methods of increase of a resistance to stress; reflexive activity of participants of the courses.Results: statistically significant growth of level of the relation to health at the vast majority of respondents, irrespective of qualification category and the official status.Practical implications: professional development of the various experts who are engaged in training of adults, and also future educators carrying out vocational training, health care and social protection.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12731/2218-7405-2013-9-78

  5. Evaluation of Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors in Health Care Workers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meltem Yalcinkaya

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available This research was conducted as a descriptive study for the purpose of determining the healthy lifestyle behaviors of health care workers employed at university and state hospitals in Afyon and Denizli. There were 1779 health care personnel in the sample who were employed at university and state hospitals in Afyon and Denizli. It was planned conducted the research on the entire population however some health care workers did not want to participate a total of 316 health care workers were included in the study sample. Data were collected between 15 June-15 Agust 2006 using a demografik questionnaire form and the Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Scale. In the evaluation data gained, Number-percentage calculations, t-test, One Way ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests were used. This study was determined that 84.5% of the health care workers were nurses, 55.7% were in the 20-30 year old age group, 75.0% were married, 39.2% worked on surgical units, 69.6% ate regular meals, only 22.8% were interested in sports, 61.1% did not smoke cigarettes. A statistically significant difference was found health care workers between for age group, gender, educational level, years of employment, hospital unit where they worked, status of eating regular meals, status of being interested in sports, use of alcohol, hospital where employed and the health care workers' healthy lifestyle behaviors (p<0.05. For development health care behaviors lifestyle the main factor which is avoid risk behavior life. Healt care workers must play an important role on the issue. [TAF Prev Med Bull 2007; 6(6.000: 409-420

  6. Evaluation of Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors in Health Care Workers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meltem Yalcinkaya

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available This research was conducted as a descriptive study for the purpose of determining the healthy lifestyle behaviors of health care workers employed at university and state hospitals in Afyon and Denizli. There were 1779 health care personnel in the sample who were employed at university and state hospitals in Afyon and Denizli. It was planned conducted the research on the entire population however some health care workers did not want to participate a total of 316 health care workers were included in the study sample. Data were collected between 15 June-15 Agust 2006 using a demografik questionnaire form and the Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Scale. In the evaluation data gained, Number-percentage calculations, t-test, One Way ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests were used. This study was determined that 84.5% of the health care workers were nurses, 55.7% were in the 20-30 year old age group, 75.0% were married, 39.2% worked on surgical units, 69.6% ate regular meals, only 22.8% were interested in sports, 61.1% did not smoke cigarettes. A statistically significant difference was found health care workers between for age group, gender, educational level, years of employment, hospital unit where they worked, status of eating regular meals, status of being interested in sports, use of alcohol, hospital where employed and the health care workers' healthy lifestyle behaviors (p<0.05. For development health care behaviors lifestyle the main factor which is avoid risk behavior life. Healt care workers must play an important role on the issue. [TAF Prev Med Bull. 2007; 6(6: 409-420

  7. Lifestyle Knowledge and Preferences in Preschool Children: Evaluation of the "Get up and Grow" Healthy Lifestyle Education Programme

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiseman, Nicola; Harris, Neil; Lee, Patricia

    2016-01-01

    Objective: Early childhood is considered a window of opportunity for lifestyle interventions, as this is a critical life-stage at which children accumulate knowledge and skills around behaviours such as eating and physical activity. This study examined how exposure to a settings-based healthy lifestyle programme influences knowledge and preference…

  8. The Healthy Lifestyles Programme (HeLP — An Overview of and Recommendations Arising from the Conceptualisation and Development of an Innovative Approach to Promoting Healthy Lifestyles for Children and Their Families

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jenny Lloyd

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Despite the rise in childhood obesity, there remains a paucity of evidence for effective interventions that engage children and parents sufficiently to make and sustain lifestyle behaviour change. The Healthy Lifestyles Programme (HeLP is a school-located obesity prevention programme, which has been developed with teachers, families and healthcare professionals. The underpinning assumption in the development of HeLP was to take a relational approach to changing behaviour, building relationships with the schools, children and their families to create supportive environments for healthy lifestyle choices. Thus, HeLP was conceptualised as a complex intervention within a complex system and developed as a dynamic, evolving set of processes to support and motivate children towards healthy behaviours. The delivery methods used are highly interactive and encourage identification with and ownership of the healthy lifestyle messages so that the children are motivated to take them home to their parents and effect change within the family. We have good evidence that HeLP engages schools and children such that they want to participate in the Programme. Results from an exploratory trial showed that the Programme is feasible and acceptable and has the potential to change behaviours and affect weight status. This paper presents an overview of and recommendations arising from the conceptualization; development and evaluation of the Healthy Lifestyles Programme as part of a special issue focusing on novel approaches to the global problem of childhood obesity.

  9. Stage-Based Healthy Lifestyles Program for Non-College Young Adults

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walsh, Jennifer; Kattelmann, Kendra; White, Adrienne

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to test the feasibility of implementing a healthy lifestyles intervention to maintain or achieve healthy weight for low-income young adults in vocational education. Design/methodology/approach: Non-randomized, quasi-experimental feasibility test of a ten-week intervention with follow-up assessment designed…

  10. Analysis of current trends on the Czech food market with a focus on a healthy lifestyle.

    OpenAIRE

    Bartůňková, Eva

    2013-01-01

    The thesis of this work is to map current trends on the Czech food market with focus on a healthy lifestyle. In particular, it focuses on foodstuff labelling and GDA labels. The paper begins by surveying the development of the healthy lifestyle trend, as well as the activities of the Federation of the Food and Drink Industries of the Czech Republic involved in a healthy lifestyle; furthermore, the work elaborates on segmentation of the consumer and evaluation of a healthy lifestyle, obesity a...

  11. Combined impact of healthy lifestyle factors on colorectal cancer: a large European cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aleksandrova, Krasimira; Pischon, Tobias; Jenab, Mazda; Bueno-de-Mesquita, H Bas; Fedirko, Veronika; Norat, Teresa; Romaguera, Dora; Knüppel, Sven; Boutron-Ruault, Marie-Christine; Dossus, Laure; Dartois, Laureen; Kaaks, Rudolf; Li, Kuanrong; Tjønneland, Anne; Overvad, Kim; Quirós, José Ramón; Buckland, Genevieve; Sánchez, María José; Dorronsoro, Miren; Chirlaque, Maria-Dolores; Barricarte, Aurelio; Khaw, Kay-Tee; Wareham, Nicholas J; Bradbury, Kathryn E; Trichopoulou, Antonia; Lagiou, Pagona; Trichopoulos, Dimitrios; Palli, Domenico; Krogh, Vittorio; Tumino, Rosario; Naccarati, Alessio; Panico, Salvatore; Siersema, Peter D; Peeters, Petra H M; Ljuslinder, Ingrid; Johansson, Ingegerd; Ericson, Ulrika; Ohlsson, Bodil; Weiderpass, Elisabete; Skeie, Guri; Borch, Kristin Benjaminsen; Rinaldi, Sabina; Romieu, Isabelle; Kong, Joyce; Gunter, Marc J; Ward, Heather A; Riboli, Elio; Boeing, Heiner

    2014-10-10

    Excess body weight, physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption and certain dietary factors are individually related to colorectal cancer (CRC) risk; however, little is known about their joint effects. The aim of this study was to develop a healthy lifestyle index (HLI) composed of five potentially modifiable lifestyle factors--healthy weight, physical activity, non-smoking, limited alcohol consumption and a healthy diet, and to explore the association of this index with CRC incidence using data collected within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort. In the EPIC cohort, a total of 347,237 men and women, 25- to 70-years old, provided dietary and lifestyle information at study baseline (1992 to 2000). Over a median follow-up time of 12 years, 3,759 incident CRC cases were identified. The association between a HLI and CRC risk was evaluated using Cox proportional hazards regression models and population attributable risks (PARs) have been calculated. After accounting for study centre, age, sex and education, compared with 0 or 1 healthy lifestyle factors, the hazard ratio (HR) for CRC was 0.87 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.44 to 0.77) for two factors, 0.79 (95% CI: 0.70 to 0.89) for three factors, 0.66 (95% CI: 0.58 to 0.75) for four factors and 0.63 (95% CI: 0.54 to 0.74) for five factors; P-trendhealthy lifestyle behaviours included in the index. Combined lifestyle factors are associated with a lower incidence of CRC in European populations characterized by western lifestyles. Prevention strategies considering complex targeting of multiple lifestyle factors may provide practical means for improved CRC prevention.

  12. Relationship between healthy lifestyle behaviors and health locus of control and health-specific self-efficacy in university students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Açıkgöz Çepni, Serap; Kitiş, Yeter

    2017-07-01

    To investigate the relationship between the healthy lifestyle behaviors and the health locus of control and health-specific self-efficacy in university students. The study included 572 undergraduate students of a university in the central Anatolia region of Turkey. The data were collected with the General Characteristics Form, the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II, the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale, and the Perceived Health Competence Scale and investigated with the structural equation model. Health-specific self-efficacy was an important predictor of healthy lifestyle behaviors. The Internal health locus of control influenced the healthy lifestyle behaviors through health-specific self-efficacy. The other dimension was the Powerful Others health locus of control that affected healthy lifestyle behaviors, both directly and indirectly, through health-specific self-efficacy. There was a chance that the health locus of control had a negative effect on healthy lifestyle behaviors through self-efficacy. Health-specific self-efficacy is an important prerequisite for changes in healthy lifestyle behaviors, which supports Pender's model. The subscales of the health locus of control vary in their effects on healthy lifestyle behaviors, which partly supports Pender's model. Nurses, by using this model, can examine ways of improving these cognitive-perceptual factors and implement health education programs that are directed towards improving them in young persons. © 2016 Japan Academy of Nursing Science.

  13. Healthy or Unhealthy Lifestyle: A Thematic Analysis of Iranian Male Adolescents' Perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zareiyan, Armin

    2017-01-01

    Identifying what adolescents perceive as their lifestyle and exploring the factors persuading their decisions to engage in or avoid healthy or unhealthy lifestyle behaviors could improve the ability of healthcare professionals to develop innovative preventive strategies and modify negative health behaviors in adolescents. Hence, the literature on adolescent health-related issues reported by adults showed a rarity of information from adolescents themselves. A qualitative study using the thematic analysis approach was conducted. Data were collected by semi-structured, digitally recorded interviews from 32 male adolescents. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, and after collecting the data, the thematic analysis process was started and conducted in six phases. After data collection, the interview texts were transcribed, and approximately 800 initial codes were extracted. The initial codes were reevaluated to yield 48 main themes. Hence, the final thematic map was created as having 5 overarching themes and 12 subthemes, showing that interviewees emphasized unhealthy lifestyle. The components of unhealthy lifestyle seem important to them because they consider that they could lead a healthy lifestyle through elimination of negative behaviors.

  14. Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors of Nursing and Classroom Teaching Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melahat Akgun Kostak

    2014-06-01

    CONCLUSIONS: In this study, students\\ gender, health status, level of success, taking courses related to health promotion, smoking and their participation in sports activities influenced the behavior of healthy lifestyle. [TAF Prev Med Bull 2014; 13(3.000: 189-196

  15. Combined impact of healthy lifestyle factors on risk of atrial fibrillation: Prospective study in men and women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larsson, Susanna C; Drca, Nikola; Jensen-Urstad, Mats; Wolk, Alicja

    2016-01-15

    The combined impact of multiple lifestyle factors on risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) remains unclear. We investigated the joint association of four modifiable lifestyle factors on incidence of AF in a prospective study of men and women. The study cohort comprised 39 300 men in the Cohort of Swedish Men and 33 090 women in the Swedish Mammography Cohort who were 45-83 years of age and free from atrial fibrillation at baseline. Healthy lifestyle was defined as body mass index healthy lifestyle factors, the multivariable relative risks (95% confidence interval) of AF were 0.83 (0.65-1.07) for one, 0.74 (0.58-0.94) for two, 0.62 (0.49-0.79) for three, and 0.50 (0.39-0.64) for four healthy lifestyle factors (P for trend healthy lifestyle factors combined were associated with a halving of the risk of AF. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Do medical students adhere to advice regarding a healthy lifestyle? A pilot study of BMI and some aspects of lifestyle in medical students in Poland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanikowska, Dominika; Sikorska, Dorota; Kuczyńska, Barbara; Grzymisławski, Marian; Bręborowicz, Andrzej; Witowski, Janusz

    2017-12-01

    The components of lifestyle of medical students, with comprehensive reporting of their physical activity and drinking and eating behavior, are rarely evaluated. Being overweight (increased body mass index - BMI) is associated with health problems, an unhealthy lifestyle (inadequate sleep, diet and exercise) being implicated. The aim was to determine if there were discrepancies between assessments of actual lifestyle and advice regarding the principles of a healthy lifestyle. The relationship between lifestyle and BMI was investigated in 270 medical students (158 females, 112 males) who answered a questionnaire about aspects of their lifestyle. The mean ±SD BMI in males (23.41 ±0.25kg/m2) was significantly higher than in females (20.52 ±0.16kg/m2). Many aspects of lifestyle differed significantly with gender, including sleep habits, number of meals eaten, types of food eaten (fast food, amounts of fresh fruit and vegetables, sweets, etc.) and alcohol consumption, males generally having less healthy lifestyles. After correcting the associations between BMI and lifestyle factors for gender, one main finding was a positive association between BMI and alcohol intake, BMI rising by 0.014 kg/m2/g alcohol intake per week. These results show clear differences between actual and advised lifestyle with regard to many aspects of sleep, food and fluid intake, and exercise. Most students, particularly males, had not adopted a healthy lifestyle. Possible future problems associated with this require more emphasis.

  17. Motivators and barriers of a Healthy Lifestyle Scale: development and psychometric characteristics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Downes, Loureen

    2008-01-01

    Black individuals suffer disproportionately from diseases that are preventable by lifestyle choices. The purpose of this study was to test the internal consistency and construct validity of the newly devised instrument, Motivators and Barriers of a Healthy Lifestyle Scale (MABS). The MABS was administered to 109 community-dwelling, adult Blacks. Content validity was supported through review of the literature and the judgment of three content experts. Exploratory factor analysis supported the two dimensions, that is, motivators and barriers. The Cronbach's alphas for the motivators and barriers dimensions were .88 and .90, respectively. Results provide initial evidence that the MABS is a valid, internally consistent measure of factors that motivate or inhibit healthy lifestyle behaviors. Screening with the MABS could encourage more focused health promotion discussions between patients and practitioners.

  18. Improving physical activity, mental health outcomes, and academic retention in college students with Freshman 5 to Thrive: COPE/Healthy Lifestyles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melnyk, Bernadette; Kelly, Stephanie; Jacobson, Diana; Arcoleo, Kimberly; Shaibi, Gabriel

    2014-06-01

    To assess the preliminary effects of a new course entitled Freshman 5 to Thrive/COPE Healthy Lifestyles on the cognitive beliefs, knowledge, mental health outcomes, healthy lifestyle choices, physical activity, and retention of college freshmen. Measures included demographics, nutrition knowledge, healthy lifestyle beliefs, healthy lifestyle perceived difficulty, healthy lifestyle choices, Beck Youth Inventories-II (anxiety, depression, anxiety, and destructive behavior), step count via pedometer, and college retention. The experimental COPE (Creating Opportunities for Personal Empowerment) group had greater intentions to live a healthy lifestyle (p = .02) versus the comparison group. COPE students also significantly increased their physical activity (p = .003) from baseline to postintervention and had a higher college retention rate than students who did not take the course. In addition, there was a significant decrease in depressive and anxiety symptoms in COPE students whose baseline scores were elevated. The Freshman 5 to Thrive Course is a promising intervention that can be used to enhance healthy lifestyle behaviors and improve mental health outcomes in college freshmen. ©2013 The Author(s) ©2013 American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

  19. Effects of combined healthy lifestyle factors on functional vascular aging: the Rotterdam Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karimi, Leila; Mattace-Raso, Francesco U S; van Rosmalen, Joost; van Rooij, Frank; Hofman, Albert; Franco, Oscar H

    2016-05-01

    To evaluate whether components of a healthy lifestyle, combined and individually, are associated with arterial stiffness as a marker of functional vascular aging. We included 3235 participants aged 61-96 years from the Rotterdam Study. Measures of arterial stiffness included: aortic pulse wave velocity and carotid distensibility coefficient. Participants were scored one point for each of healthy lifestyle factors: consumption of five or more of fruits and/or vegetables per day, 75 min or more vigorous physical activity per week, 18.5 ≤ BMI ≤ 24. 9, never smoked and light-to-moderate alcohol intake (maximum seven glasses for women and 14 glasses for men) per week. Also a combined score (0-5) was computed by adding the five factors. Linear regression analysis was used to evaluate the association of healthy lifestyle and measures of arterial stiffness adjusting for confounders. Participants had -0.113 [95% confidence interval (CI): -0.196, -0.029] difference in mean aortic pulse wave velocity m/s per unit increment of the lifestyle factors score, independent of cardiovascular risk factors. Higher fruit and vegetable consumption -0.221 (95% CI: -0.409, -0.034) and physical activity -0.239 (95% CI: -0.433, -0.044) were also significantly associated with reduced aortic pulse wave velocity. The corresponding estimates in carotid distensibility coefficient lacked statistical significance when we adjusted for cardiovascular risk factors. Combining multiple healthy lifestyle factors is associated with reduced aortic stiffness, a measure of functional vascular aging and independent of cardiovascular risk factors.

  20. [Improvement of healthy lifestyle habits in university students through a gamification approach].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pérez López, Isaac José; Rivera García, Enrique; Delgado-Fernández, Manuel

    2017-07-28

    Health education is one of the primary tools for health promotion, especially for those that will be responsible for educating on healthy habits in the future. To improve healthy lifestyle habits in university students through an educational intervention based on gamification. A cuasiexperimental design of two groups (i.e., experimental groups and control group) with pretest and postest measurements was carried out. A 4-month intervention was implemented in 148 students from the Physical Activity and Sport Sciences university degree. Habits related to diet and physical activity were evaluated using a questionnaire (scaled from -40 a +50) and the teaching-learning process through a qualitative analysis. At the end of the intervention, a very significant improvement was found in the global value of the healthy lifestyle habits of the experimental group (+13,5), highlighting the improvement obtained in its higher level of compliance in the breakfast (53,4%), in the number of diary meals (31,5%), in the reduction of the consumption of soft-drinks (19,2%) and in the increase of physical activity level, with an improvement of 12,3% of participants with respect to the baseline levels. On the other hand, no significant improvements were found in the control group. An educational intervention based on gamification improves healthy lifestyle habits of the students.

  1. An Innovative School-Based Intervention to Promote Healthy Lifestyles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piana, Natalia; Ranucci, Claudia; Buratta, Livia; Foglia, Elena; Fabi, Marta; Novelli, Francesca; Casucci, Simone; Reginato, Elisa; Pippi, Roberto; Aiello, Cristina; Leonardi, Alessia; Romani, Giannermete; De Feo, Pierpaolo; Mazzeschi, Claudia

    2017-01-01

    Objective: To describe an innovative school-based intervention to promote healthy lifestyles. To evaluate its effects on children's food habits and to highlight the key components which contribute most to the beneficial effects obtained from children's, teachers' and parents' perspectives. Design: An educational tool to improve personal awareness,…

  2. Facilitators and barriers of adopting healthy lifestyle in rural China: a qualitative analysis through social capital perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yan; Ma, Defu; Cui, Renzhe; Haregot Hilawe, Esayas; Chiang, Chifa; Hirakawa, Yoshihisa; Hu, Yonghua; Wang, Peiyu; Iso, Hiroyasu; Aoyama, Atsuko

    2016-05-01

    Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the major public health concerns in China. However, little has been known yet about the background social factors that influence lifestyles as possible NCD risk factors. This qualitative study aimed to explore facilitators and barriers of adopting healthy lifestyles among residents in a rural community of China. Three age-stratified focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted in Fangshan district of Beijing in 2013. A FGD guide was designed to elicit the participants' perception and experience regarding their lifestyles. The audio-records were transcribed, and data were qualitatively analyzed through thematic approach. Through social capital framework with bonding, bridging, and linking classifications, we identified the following facilitators and barriers to adopt healthy lifestyles. (1) Facilitators: mutual support from family/friends and motivation to participate in regular exercises (bonding); cooperative relationships with community health workers (bridging); and nationwide high level of healthy lifestyle awareness (linking). (2) Barriers: negative influence from family/friends, insufficient support from family/friends, peer pressure and tolerance towards unhealthy lifestyles (bonding); insufficient support from health professionals (bridging); and inequity in allocation of public resources (linking). This study revealed that bonding, bridging and linking social capital would work as facilitators and barriers to adopt healthy lifestyles among rural residents in China.

  3. Combined influence of healthy diet and active lifestyle on cardiovascular disease risk factors in adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cuenca-García, M; Ortega, F B; Ruiz, J R; González-Gross, M; Labayen, I; Jago, R; Martínez-Gómez, D; Dallongeville, J; Bel-Serrat, S; Marcos, A; Manios, Y; Breidenassel, C; Widhalm, K; Gottrand, F; Ferrari, M; Kafatos, A; Molnár, D; Moreno, L A; De Henauw, S; Castillo, M J; Sjöström, M

    2014-06-01

    To investigate the combined influence of diet quality and physical activity on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in adolescents, adolescents (n = 1513; 12.5-17.5 years) participating in the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence study were studied. Dietary intake was registered using a 24-h recall and a diet quality index was calculated. Physical activity was assessed by accelerometry. Lifestyle groups were computed as: healthy diet and active, unhealthy diet but active, healthy diet but inactive, and unhealthy diet and inactive. CVD risk factor measurements included cardiorespiratory fitness, adiposity indicators, blood lipid profile, blood pressure, and insulin resistance. A CVD risk score was computed. The healthy diet and active group had a healthier cardiorespiratory profile, fat mass index (FMI), triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels and total cholesterol (TC)/HDL-C ratio (all P ≤ 0.05). Overall, active adolescents showed higher cardiorespiratory fitness, lower FMI, TC/HDL-C ratio, and homeostasis model assessment index and healthier blood pressure than their inactive peers with either healthy or unhealthy diet (all P ≤ 0.05). Healthy diet and active group had healthier CVD risk score compared with the inactive groups (all P ≤ 0.02). Thus, a combination of healthy diet and active lifestyle is associated with decreased CVD risk in adolescents. Moreover, an active lifestyle may reduce the adverse consequences of an unhealthy diet. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. Determination of physical health status and healthy lifestyle behaviors of individuals with mental illness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erginer, Derya Kayar; Günüşen, Neslihan Partlak

    2018-02-23

    The aim of this study is to determine the physical health status and healthy lifestyle behaviors of individuals with mental illness. A descriptive research design was used. The sample of the study consisted of 115 individuals with mental illness. The Health Lifestyle Behaviors Scale II was used to assess the healthy lifestyle behaviors of the participants. Of the individuals, 49.6% were found to have metabolic syndrome. Individuals with mental illness obtained the lowest score from the physical activity dimension of the scale. Individuals with mental illness need to receive education and support, especially in terms of nutrition and exercise. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. Adopting a healthy lifestyle when pregnant and obese - an interview study three years after childbirth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dencker, Anna; Premberg, Åsa; Olander, Ellinor K; McCourt, Christine; Haby, Karin; Dencker, Sofie; Glantz, Anna; Berg, Marie

    2016-07-30

    Obesity during pregnancy is increasing and is related to life-threatening and ill-health conditions in both mother and child. Initiating and maintaining a healthy lifestyle when pregnant with body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m(2) can improve health and decrease risks during pregnancy and of long-term illness for the mother and the child. To minimise gestational weight gain women with BMI ≥ 30 kg/m(2) in early pregnancy were invited to a lifestyle intervention including advice and support on diet and physical activity in Gothenburg, Sweden. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of women with BMI ≥ 30 kg/m(2) regarding minimising their gestational weight gain, and to assess how health professionals' care approaches are reflected in the women's narratives. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 women who had participated in a lifestyle intervention for women with BMI ≥ 30 kg/m(2) during pregnancy 3 years earlier. The interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed in full. Thematic analysis was used. The meaning of changing lifestyle for minimising weight gain and of the professional's care approaches is described in four themes: the child as the main motivation for making healthy changes; a need to be seen and supported on own terms to establish healthy routines; being able to manage healthy activities and own weight; and need for additional support to maintain a healthy lifestyle. To support women with BMI ≥ 30 kg/m(2) to make healthy lifestyle changes and limit weight gain during pregnancy antenatal health care providers should 1) address women's weight in a non-judgmental way using BMI, and provide accurate and appropriate information about the benefits of limited gestational weight gain; 2) support the woman on her own terms in a collaborative relationship with the midwife; 3) work in partnership to give the woman the tools to self-manage healthy activities and 4) give continued personal support and

  6. A healthy lifestyle composite measure: Significance and potential uses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adams, Mary L; Katz, David L; Shenson, Douglas

    2016-03-01

    Our objective was to create and explore potential uses of a composite "Healthy Lifestyle" measure based on Healthy People 2020 (HP2020) Objectives for behaviors shown to be associated with morbidity and mortality. Data were from the 2013 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (N=412,942) on five modifiable behaviors with HP2020 Objectives (leisure time exercise, eating fruits and vegetables 5 or more times/day, getting ≥7h of sleep/24h, not smoking and not drinking excessively). These indicators were combined to form an all-or-none composite Healthy Lifestyle (HLS) measure. Associations between the HLS measure and demographic and other measures, plus details of component measures, were reported. Results indicated that only 7.7% of adults reported a HLS with wide variation among states and demographic groups. Both unadjusted and logistic regression results found associations between a HLS and better health, lower rates of chronic disease and better access to health care. Over one fourth of all respondents (28.0%) needed to only improve fruit and vegetable consumption to be practicing a HLS. In conclusion, few adults were practicing five behaviors that are generally recognized as healthy. All-or-none metrics like this HLS measure offer a fresh perspective on modifiable behaviors and the need for improvement. Examination of measure components can help explain demographic differences and identify strategies for improvement. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Advertising a "Healthy Lifestyle:" A Cypriot Health Education Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ioannou, Soula

    2006-01-01

    This paper describes a health education program entitled "Young Consumer" project, financed by the European Union and implemented by the Cyprus Consumer Association between March and June 2004. The aim of the project was to promote a healthy lifestyle among a group of Cypriot primary school pupils (11-12 years old). Participants were…

  8. [Health promotion for long-term unemployed. Effects on motivation for a healthy lifestyle].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horns, K; Seeger, K; Heinmüller, M; Limm, H; Waldhoff, H-P; Salman, R; Gündel, H; Angerer, P

    2012-05-01

    Among the long-term unemployed ill health is often a hindrance to successful reintegration in the job market. In a quasi-experimental controlled study we examined the effects of a health promotion intervention program tailored to the specific needs of the long-term unemployed combining individual sessions based on motivational interviewing and participatory group sessions including physical activity. Over a period of 3 months the participants of the intervention group (n = 179) showed more improvement compared to the control group (n = 108) in terms of motivation for lifestyle changes towards more physical activity and healthier nutrition. Participants of the intervention group developed an intention to act significantly more often (active lifestyle: odds ratio 4.44; 95% CI: 2.00-9.83; healthy nutrition: odds ratio 3.94; 95% CI: 1.55-10.00) and actually implemented a behavior change significantly more often (active lifestyle: odds ratio 2.77; 95% CI: 1.35-5.71; healthy nutrition: odds ratio 4.34; 95% CI: 1.92-9.78). In terms of smoking and alcohol consumption no significant intervention effects were detected. The results of the study show the effectiveness of the described health promotion program regarding a lifestyle change towards more healthy nutrition and more physical activity.

  9. A gender-based approach to developing a healthy lifestyle and healthy weight intervention for diverse Utah women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simonsen, Sara E; Digre, Kathleen B; Ralls, Brenda; Mukundente, Valentine; Davis, France A; Rickard, Sylvia; Tavake-Pasi, Fahina; Napia, Eru Ed; Aiono, Heather; Chirpich, Meghan; Stark, Louisa A; Sunada, Grant; Keen, Kassy; Johnston, Leanne; Frost, Caren J; Varner, Michael W; Alder, Stephen C

    2015-08-01

    Utah women from some cultural minority groups have higher overweight/obesity rates than the overall population. We utilized a gender-based mixed methods approach to learn about the underlying social, cultural and gender issues that contribute to the increased obesity risk among these women and to inform intervention development. A literature review and analysis of Utah's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data informed the development of a focus group guide. Focus groups were conducted with five groups of women: African immigrants from Burundi and Rwanda, African Americans, American Indians/Alaskan Natives, Hispanics/Latinas, and Pacific Islanders. Six common themes emerged: (1) health is multidimensional and interventions must address health in this manner; (2) limited resources and time influence health behaviors; (3) norms about healthy weight vary, with certain communities showing more preference to heavier women; (4) women and men have important but different influences on healthy lifestyle practices within households; (5) women have an influential role on the health of families; and (6) opportunities exist within each group to improve health. Seeking insights from these five groups of women helped to identify common and distinct cultural and gender themes related to obesity, which can be used to help elucidate core obesity determinants. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Peer-led healthy lifestyle program in supportive housing: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cabassa, Leopoldo J; Stefancic, Ana; O'Hara, Kathleen; El-Bassel, Nabila; Lewis-Fernández, Roberto; Luchsinger, José A; Gates, Lauren; Younge, Richard; Wall, Melanie; Weinstein, Lara; Palinkas, Lawrence A

    2015-09-02

    The risk for obesity is twice as high in people with serious mental illness (SMI) compared to the general population. Racial and ethnic minority status contribute additional health risks. The aim of this study is to describe the protocol of a Hybrid Trial Type 1 design that will test the effectiveness and examine the implementation of a peer-led healthy lifestyle intervention in supportive housing agencies serving diverse clients with serious mental illness who are overweight or obese. The Hybrid Trial Type 1 design will combine a randomized effectiveness trial with a mixed-methods implementation study. The effectiveness trial will test the health impacts of a peer-led healthy lifestyle intervention versus usual care in supportive housing agencies. The healthy lifestyle intervention is derived from the Group Lifestyle Balanced Program, lasts 12 months, and will be delivered by trained peer specialists. Repeated assessments will be conducted at baseline and at 6, 12, and 18 months post randomization. A mixed-methods (e.g., structured interviews, focus groups, surveys) implementation study will be conducted to examine multi-level implementation factors and processes that can inform the use of the healthy lifestyle intervention in routine practice, using data from agency directors, program managers, staff, and peer specialists before, during, and after the implementation of the effectiveness trial. This paper describes the use of a hybrid research design that blends effectiveness trial methodologies and implementation science rarely used when studying the physical health of people with SMI and can serve as a model for integrating implementation science and health disparities research. Rigorously testing effectiveness and exploring the implementation process are both necessary steps to establish the evidence for large-scale delivery of peer-led healthy lifestyle intervention to improve the physical health of racial/ethnic minorities with SMI. www

  11. Promoting a healthy lifestyle: towards an improved personalized feedback approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Achterkamp, Reinoud; Cabrita, M.; op den Akker, Harm; Hermens, Hermanus J.; Vollenbroek-Hutten, Miriam Marie Rosé

    2013-01-01

    Technology supported services for achieving a healthy lifestyle have shown their short term effects and are receiving increasing interest from the research community. However, long term adherence to these services is poor. This paper describes research-in-progress regarding the implementation of

  12. A simple healthy lifestyle index as a proxy of wellness: a proof of concept.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lucini, Daniela; Zanuso, Silvano; Blair, Steven; Pagani, Massimo

    2015-02-01

    The evidence supporting the importance of a healthy lifestyle (active life, healthy diet, not smoking, and low stress) as a part of programs for primary and secondary prevention of cardiometabolic diseases is strong, compelling, and continuously growing. In this study, we test whether a simple web-based healthy lifestyle index, using self-reports, is related to indices of cardiovascular health and metabolic syndrome and could be employed in large wellness programs intended to promote healthy lifestyle. We studied 411 workers in an Italian multinational factory who were enrolled in a voluntary program consisting of a health checkup and an online questionnaire on lifestyle. These domains were combined into a single simple index. Participants were subdivided into three healthy lifestyle index (HI) groups (red, yellow, and green) ranging from poor to good HI quality (HI from red to green: 41.8 ± 14.6; 75.7 ± 8.5; 93.8 ± 2.2; p < 0.05). The groups differed in indicators of cardiovascular and metabolic health (waist circumference females: 82.1 ± 9.56, 78.9 ± 9.3, 72.7 ± 6.6; males: 95.2 ± 11.7, 90.0 ± 9.5, 85.7 ± 6.1 cm; group difference p < 0.05). Moreover, they differed significantly in the likelihood of having more components of the metabolic syndrome and, conversely, fewer components of the ideal cardiovascular health profile (with red having the worst profile). The red group was also characterized by the highest absenteeism. We report for the first time that a web-based self-reported poor health behavior was significantly associated with clinical and laboratory (partial correlation between HI and high-density cholesterol 0.192; body mass index -0.288; systolic blood pressure -0.130; all p < 0.05) results indicating a negative cardiometabolic profile.

  13. Healthy lifestyle and decreasing risk of heart failure in women: the Women's Health Initiative observational study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agha, Golareh; Loucks, Eric B; Tinker, Lesley F; Waring, Molly E; Michaud, Dominique S; Foraker, Randi E; Li, Wenjun; Martin, Lisa W; Greenland, Philip; Manson, JoAnn E; Eaton, Charles B

    2014-10-28

    The impact of a healthy lifestyle on risk of heart failure (HF) is not well known. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effect of a combination of lifestyle factors on incident HF and to further investigate whether weighting each lifestyle factor has additional impact. Participants were 84,537 post-menopausal women from the WHI (Women's Health Initiative) observational study, free of self-reported HF at baseline. A healthy lifestyle score (HL score) was created wherein women received 1 point for each healthy criterion met: high-scoring Alternative Healthy Eating Index, physically active, healthy body mass index, and currently not smoking. A weighted score (wHL score) was also created in which each lifestyle factor was weighted according to its independent magnitude of effect on HF. The incidence of hospitalized HF was determined by trained adjudicators using standardized methodology. There were 1,826 HF cases over a mean follow-up of 11 years. HL score was strongly associated with risk of HF (multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio [HR] [95% confidence interval (CI)] 0.49 [95% CI: 0.38 to 0.62], 0.36 [95% CI: 0.28 to 0.46], 0.24 [95% CI: 0.19 to 0.31], and 0.23 [95% CI: 0.17 to 0.30] for HL score of 1, 2, 3, and 4 vs. 0, respectively). The HL score and wHL score were similarly associated with HF risk (HR: 0.46 [95% CI: 0.41 to 0.52] for HL score; HR: 0.48 [95% CI: 0.42 to 0.55] for wHL score, comparing the highest tertile to the lowest). The HL score was also strongly associated with HF risk among women without antecedent coronary heart disease, diabetes, or hypertension. An increasingly healthy lifestyle was associated with decreasing HF risk among post-menopausal women, even in the absence of antecedent coronary heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes. Weighting the lifestyle factors had minimal impact. Copyright © 2014 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Understanding the relationship between stress, distress and healthy lifestyle behaviour: a qualitative study of patients and general practitioners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKenzie, Suzanne H; Harris, Mark F

    2013-11-01

    The process of initiating and maintaining healthy lifestyle behaviours is complex, includes a number of distinct phases and is not static. Theoretical models of behaviour change consider psychological constructs such as intention and self efficacy but do not clearly consider the role of stress or psychological distress. General practice based interventions addressing lifestyle behaviours have been demonstrated to be feasible and effective however it is not clear whether general practitioners (GPs) take psychological health into consideration when discussing lifestyle behaviours. This qualitative study explores GPs' and patients' perspectives about the relationship between external stressors, psychological distress and maintaining healthy lifestyle behaviours. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 16 patients and 5 GPs. Transcripts from the interviews were thematically analysed and a conceptual model developed to explain the relationship between external stressors, psychological distress and healthly lifestyle behaviours. Participants were motivated to maintain a healthy lifestyle however they described a range of external factors that impacted on behaviour in both positive and negative ways, either directly or via their impact on psychological distress. The impact of external factors was moderated by coping strategies, beliefs, habits and social support. In some cases the process of changing or maintaining healthy behaviour also caused distress. The concept of a threshold level of distress was evident in the data with patients and GPs describing a certain level of distress required before it negatively influenced behaviour. Maintaining healthy lifestyle behaviours is complex and constantly under challenge from external stressors. Practitioners can assist patients with maintaining healthy behaviour by providing targeted support to moderate the impact of external stressors.

  15. Healthy or Unhealthy Lifestyle: A Thematic Analysis of Iranian Male Adolescents? Perspectives

    OpenAIRE

    Zareiyan, Armin

    2017-01-01

    Introduction: Identifying what adolescents perceive as their lifestyle and exploring the factors persuading their decisions to engage in or avoid healthy or unhealthy lifestyle behaviors could improve the ability of healthcare professionals to develop innovative preventive strategies and modify negative health behaviors in adolescents. Hence, the literature on adolescent health-related issues reported by adults showed a rarity of information from adolescents themselves. Materials and Methods:...

  16. Adherence to healthy lifestyle and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus: prospective cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Cuilin; Tobias, Deirdre K; Chavarro, Jorge E; Bao, Wei; Wang, Dong; Ley, Sylvia H; Hu, Frank B

    2014-09-30

    To quantify the association between a combination of healthy lifestyle factors before pregnancy (healthy body weight, healthy diet, regular exercise, and not smoking) and the risk of gestational diabetes. Prospective cohort study. Nurses' Health Study II, United States. 20,136 singleton live births in 14,437 women without chronic disease. Self reported incident gestational diabetes diagnosed by a physician, validated by medical records in a previous study. Incident first time gestational diabetes was reported in 823 pregnancies. Each lifestyle factor measured was independently and significantly associated with risk of gestational diabetes. The combination of three low risk factors (non-smoker, ≥ 150 minutes a week of moderate to vigorous physical activity, and healthy eating (top two fifths of Alternate Healthy Eating Index-2010 adherence score)) was associated with a 41% lower risk of gestational diabetes compared with all other pregnancies (relative risk 0.59, 95% confidence interval 0.48 to 0.71). Addition of body mass index (BMI) diabetes compared with all other pregnancies (relative risk 0.48, 0.38 to 0.61). Compared with pregnancies in women who did not meet any of the low risk lifestyle factors, those meeting all four criteria had an 83% lower risk of gestational diabetes (relative risk 0.17, 0.12 to 0.25). The population attributable risk percentage of the four risk factors in combination (smoking, inactivity, overweight, and poor diet) was 47.5% (95% confidence interval 35.6% to 56.6%). A similar population attributable risk percentage (49.2%) was observed when the distributions of the four low risk factors from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2007-10) data were applied to the calculation. Adherence to a low risk lifestyle before pregnancy is associated with a low risk of gestational diabetes and could be an effective strategy for the prevention of gestational diabetes. © Zhang et al 2014.

  17. Who do people talk to about healthy lifestyles? A South Australian survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moorhead, R G

    1992-12-01

    To investigate who people talk to about healthy lifestyle a personal interview of people in a representative sample of South Australians was carried out. The information was collected by interview from all occupants of selected private dwellings who were aged 15 years or older. The interviewer used a prompt card with nine possible responses and the question asked was "which one of these would you be most likely to talk about healthy lifestyle changes?" Forty-four per cent nominated the general practitioner and 22% a family member. People who were either married or in a de facto relationship (30%) significantly chose a general practitioner more than others (14%) (P adviser (P advisers.

  18. Forming value orientations on healthy lifestyle among students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bugaeva I.O.

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available This work contains the model of forming the students' value priorities on healthy lifestyle based on the following levels: influence of the government, influence of the educational institution, influence of surrounding community, and self-motivation. The analysis of government motivation system used in Russia is given as well as how this policy integrated into the activities of the educational institution (on example of Saratov State Medical University n.a. V. I. Razumovsky.

  19. A healthy and spiritual body —consumption practices and lifestyles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nelson Antonio Gómez Serrudo

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper shows how individuals take on their lifestyles in practices revolving around a nature-based and a healthy body conception in the social spheres where they perform at ease and with relative coherence. There, consumption patterns may be evaluated, as well as the kinds of relationships that are established, and the ability to get involved with certain networks of affections and recommendations not necessarily institutionalized. Individuals move along these scenarios in building fragile and swinging lifestyles, aiming to transcend and affirming their individual identity by choosing their lifepath in a reflexive way.

  20. Students attitude of physical education and healthy lifestyle and their self-assessment of physical fitness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vitaliy Grinko

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: to identify students' attitudes toward physical education and healthy lifestyle, their own assessment of the level of physical fitness and physical qualities of priority. Material and Methods: conducted a questionnaire survey of students of Kharkiv National Economic University and Peter Vasilenko Kharkiv National Technical University of Agriculture. The study involved 166 first-year students (77 boys and 89 girls. Results: it was found that a positive attitude towards a healthy lifestyle and stick to it – 69,35% of the respondents; to physical education and are aware of the usefulness of employment – 84,8%; satisfied with their level of physical development – 40,65%. Conclusions: these results confirm the data that is currently experiencing a significant decline in the level of interest and motivation of students to a healthy lifestyle and physical education.

  1. On the normative model of a healthy lifestyle

    OpenAIRE

    Riza Akhmedzakievich Kasimov

    2015-01-01

    The formation of a healthy lifestyle among the educational process subjects is one of the main functions of health-saving educational space. This function can be implemented effectively only if the executive bodies in the sphere of education, other agencies, the public and the subjects of the educational process take active part in this process. Such cooperation requires a common understanding in the issues to promote health of all pedagogical process participants, but to date the concept “he...

  2. Self-tracking and Persuasive eCoaching in Healthy Lifestyle Interventions : Work-in-progress Scoping Review of Key Components

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lentferink, Aniek Joset; Oldenhuis, Hilbrand; Kulyk, Olga Anatoliyivna; de Groot, Martijn; Polstra, Louis; Velthuijsen, Hugo; Hermens, Hermanus J.; van Gemert-Pijnen, Lisette

    2016-01-01

    The combination of self-tracking and persuasive eCoaching in healthy lifestyle interventions is a promising approach. The objective of this study is to map the key components of existing healthy lifestyle interventions combining self-tracking and persuasive eCoaching using the scoping review

  3. The impact of a healthy lifestyle on Disability-Adjusted Life Years: a prospective cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    May, Anne M; Struijk, Ellen A; Fransen, Heidi P; Onland-Moret, N Charlotte; de Wit, G Ardine; Boer, Jolanda M A; van der Schouw, Yvonne T; Hoekstra, Jeljer; Bueno-de-Mesquita, H Bas; Peeters, Petra H M; Beulens, Joline W J

    2015-02-27

    The association between single health behaviours and incidence of and premature mortality from major chronic diseases, including myocardial infarction, stroke, diabetes mellitus, and cancer, has been demonstrated thoroughly. However, the association of several healthy behaviours with Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), which is a measure for total health combining Years Lost due to Disability and the Years of Life Lost due to premature mortality, has not been studied yet. A prospective cohort study was conducted among 33,066 healthy men and women aged 20 to 70 years recruited into the EPIC-NL study during 1993 to 1997. Participants' smoking status, BMI, physical activity, and adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet (excluding alcohol) were investigated separately and combined into a simple health behaviour score ranging from 0 to 4. Participants were followed until the end of 2007 for occurrence of and mortality from the most important chronic diseases. The association between lifestyle (separate lifestyle factors and a simple health behaviour score) and DALYs were adjusted for relevant confounders. After a median follow-up of 12.4 years, 6,647 disease incidences and 1,482 deaths were documented. Non-smoking, low BMI (BMI healthy lifestyle characteristics lived a minimum of 2 years longer in good health (DALYs: -2.13; 95% CI: -2.65 to -1.62) than persons with none. Due to our non-extinct cohort, the total number of DALYs, and consequently the estimates, is underestimated. Therefore, true lifetime health benefits of a healthy lifestyle will be even larger. Non-smoking, a low BMI, being physically active, and adherence to a Mediterranean diet were associated with a lower disease burden. Each additional healthy lifestyle factor contributed to a longer life in good health.

  4. Motivators and barriers to a healthy postpartum lifestyle in women at increased cardiovascular and metabolic risk: a focus-group study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoedjes, Meeke; Berks, Durk; Vogel, Ineke; Franx, Arie; Duvekot, Johannes J; Oenema, Anke; Steegers, Eric A P; Raat, Hein

    2012-01-01

    To describe the motivators and barriers to the adoption of a healthy postpartum lifestyle after a pregnancy complicated by preeclampsia, intrauterine growth restriction, and/or gestational diabetes. Thirty-six women with complicated pregnancies participated in six focus-group interviews that aimed to explore the perceptions of modifiable determinants of postpartum lifestyle. Although women expressed that they intended to live a healthy postpartum lifestyle, it was generally not achieved. The motivators included improving their own current health condition as well as modeling a healthy lifestyle for their children. Important barriers were reported to be lack of knowledge, poor recovery, and lack of professional support after delivery. The reported motivators and barriers can be used to develop a postpartum lifestyle intervention.

  5. Forming technology motivational-valued attitudes toward healthy appearance and lifestyle for students institutes of higher Ministry of internal affairs of Russia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Klimenko B.A.

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available Directions of forming healthy lifestyle are considered for students. 62 students took part in experiment. New conception of the health physical training is grounded high-quality for students. Tests are developed as evaluated by the measure of formed of healthy lifestyle for students. Offered approach to the maintainance of professional health, level of physical preparedness at the change of appearance and lifestyle. It is set that the author program forms for students motivational-valued attitude toward the healthy lifestyle.

  6. A qualitative study of family healthy lifestyle behaviors of Mexican-American and Mexican immigrant fathers and mothers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turner, Barbara J; Navuluri, Neelima; Winkler, Paula; Vale, Shruthi; Finley, Erin

    2014-04-01

    This study qualitatively examines contrasting parental decision-making styles about family food choices and physical activities as well as willingness to change behaviors among Mexican-American and Mexican immigrant mothers and fathers of school-aged children. Twelve sex-specific focus groups were held in English or Spanish in 2012. Qualitative analysis informed by grounded theory examined parenting styles (ie, authoritative, authoritarian, or permissive), barriers to healthy lifestyle, and parents' stage of change about healthy lifestyles. One third of the 33 participating couples were born in Mexico. The majority of mothers and fathers described being permissive and allowing unhealthy food choices, and a minority of mothers reported more authoritarian approaches to promoting a healthier diet for their children. Mothers were more permissive than fathers about family physical activities and less engaged in these activities. Most mothers and fathers described only contemplating a healthier diet and more physical activity, while wanting their children to have a healthier lifestyle. These data suggest that clinicians need to assess and address differential parental roles when promoting a healthy lifestyle for children. Clinicians should also adopt culturally competent approaches to overcome barriers to parental engagement in diverse aspects of a healthy family lifestyle. Copyright © 2014 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. A partnership for health - working with schools to promote healthy lifestyle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shah, Smita; Patching van der Sluijs, Corinne; Lagleva, Marivic; Pesle, Andrew; Lim, Kean-Seng; Bittar, Hani; Dibley, Michael

    2011-12-01

    Childhood obesity is increasing in prevalence. Effective interventions are needed, including those promoting healthy lifestyle habits in children and adolescents. This article describes the development and feasibility of a peer led health promotion program in a New South Wales high school and the role GPs can play in community based health promotion activities. The Students As Lifestyle Activists (SALSA) program was developed by general practitioners, a local community health organisation and a local high school. Preliminary evaluation suggests that a peer led approach is feasible, acceptable and valued by both students and staff.

  8. Community partnerships in healthy eating and lifestyle promotion: A network analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruopeng An

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Promoting healthy eating and lifestyles among populations with limited resources is a complex undertaking that often requires strong partnerships between various agencies. In local communities, these agencies are typically located in different areas, serve diverse subgroups, and operate distinct programs, limiting their communication and interactions with each other. This study assessed the network of agencies in local communities that promote healthy eating and lifestyles among populations with limited resources. Network surveys were administered in 2016 among 89 agencies located in 4 rural counties in Michigan that served limited-resource audiences. The agencies were categorized into 8 types: K-12 schools, early childhood centers, emergency food providers, health-related agencies, social resource centers, low-income/subsidized housing complexes, continuing education organizations, and others. Network analysis was conducted to examine 4 network structures—communication, funding, cooperation, and collaboration networks between agencies within each county. Agencies had a moderate level of cooperation, but were only loosely connected in the other 3 networks, indicated by low network density. Agencies in a network were decentralized rather than centralized around a few influential agencies, indicated by low centralization. There was evidence regarding homophily in a network, indicated by some significant correlations within agencies of the same type. Agencies connected in any one network were considerably more likely to be connected in all the other networks as well. In conclusion, promoting healthy eating and lifestyles among populations with limited resources warrants strong partnership between agencies in communities. Network analysis serves as a useful tool to evaluate community partnerships and facilitate coalition building.

  9. The Effects of Acculturation on Healthy Lifestyle Characteristics among Hispanic Fourth-Grade Children in Texas Public Schools, 2004-2005

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lind, Catherine; Mirchandani, Gita G.; Castrucci, Brian C.; Chavez, Noel; Handler, Arden; Hoelscher, Deanna M.

    2012-01-01

    Background: Childhood obesity is a national epidemic that disproportionately affects Hispanic children. Evidence suggests that increased acculturation among this population adversely affects diet and other healthy lifestyle characteristics, leading to higher rates of overweight and obesity. Healthy lifestyle characteristics must be understood in…

  10. App use, physical activity and healthy lifestyle: a cross sectional study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dallinga, Joan Martine; Mennes, Matthijs; Alpay, Laurence; Bijwaard, Harmen; Deutekom-Baart de la Faille, Marije

    2015-01-01

    Abstract: BACKGROUND: Physical inactivity is a growing public health concern. Use of mobile applications (apps) may be a powerful tool to encourage physical activity and a healthy lifestyle. For instance, apps may be used in the preparation of a running event. However, there is little evidence for

  11. A meta-analysis of serious digital games for healthy lifestyle promotion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Several systematic reviews have described health-promoting effects of serious games, but so far no meta-analysis has been reported. This paper presents a meta-analysis of 54 serious digital game studies for healthy lifestyle promotion, in which we investigated the overall effectiveness of serious di...

  12. Implementing healthy lifestyle promotion in primary care: a quasi-experimental cross-sectional study evaluating a team initiative.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Kristin; Krevers, Barbro; Bendtsen, Preben

    2015-01-22

    Non-communicable diseases are a leading cause of death and can largely be prevented by healthy lifestyles. Health care organizations are encouraged to integrate healthy lifestyle promotion in routine care. This study evaluates the impact of a team initiative on healthy lifestyle promotion in primary care. A quasi-experimental, cross-sectional design compared three intervention centres that had implemented lifestyle teams with three control centres that used a traditional model of care. Outcomes were defined using the RE-AIM framework: reach, the proportion of patients receiving lifestyle promotion; effectiveness, self-reported attitudes and competency among staff; adoption, proportion of staff reporting regular practice of lifestyle promotion; implementation, fidelity to the original lifestyle team protocol. Data collection methods included a patient questionnaire (n = 888), a staff questionnaire (n = 120) and structured interviews with all practice managers and, where applicable, team managers (n = 8). The chi square test and problem-driven content analysis was used to analyse the questionnaire and interview data, respectively. Reach: patients at control centres (48%, n = 211) received lifestyle promotion significantly more often compared with patients at intervention centres (41%, n = 169). Effectiveness: intervention staff was significantly more positive towards the effectiveness of lifestyle promotion, shared competency and how lifestyle promotion was prioritized at their centre. Adoption: 47% of staff at intervention centres and 58% at control centres reported that they asked patients about their lifestyle on a daily basis. all intervention centres had implemented multi-professional teams and team managers and held regular meetings but struggled to implement in-house referral structures for lifestyle promotion, which was used consistently among staff. Intervention centres did not show higher rates than control centres on reach of patients

  13. Defining Metabolically Healthy Obesity: Role of Dietary and Lifestyle Factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phillips, Catherine M.; Dillon, Christina; Harrington, Janas M.; McCarthy, Vera J. C.; Kearney, Patricia M.; Fitzgerald, Anthony P.; Perry, Ivan J.

    2013-01-01

    Background There is a current lack of consensus on defining metabolically healthy obesity (MHO). Limited data on dietary and lifestyle factors and MHO exist. The aim of this study is to compare the prevalence, dietary factors and lifestyle behaviours of metabolically healthy and unhealthy obese and non-obese subjects according to different metabolic health criteria. Method Cross-sectional sample of 1,008 men and 1,039 women aged 45-74 years participated in the study. Participants were classified as obese (BMI ≥30kg/m2) and non-obese (BMI unhealthy subjects was 21.8% to 87%. Calorie intake, dietary macronutrient composition, physical activity, alcohol and smoking behaviours were similar between the metabolically healthy and unhealthy regardless of BMI. Greater compliance with food pyramid recommendations and higher dietary quality were positively associated with metabolic health in obese (OR 1.45-1.53 unadjusted model) and non-obese subjects (OR 1.37-1.39 unadjusted model), respectively. Physical activity was associated with MHO defined by insulin resistance (OR 1.87, 95% CI 1.19-2.92, p = 0.006). Conclusion A standard MHO definition is required. Moderate and high levels of physical activity and compliance with food pyramid recommendations increase the likelihood of MHO. Stratification of obese individuals based on their metabolic health phenotype may be important in ascertaining the appropriate therapeutic or intervention strategy. PMID:24146838

  14. Revised Healthy Lifestyle-Diet Index and associations with obesity and iron deficiency in schoolchildren: The Healthy Growth Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manios, Y; Moschonis, G; Papandreou, C; Politidou, E; Naoumi, A; Peppas, D; Mavrogianni, C; Lionis, C; Chrousos, G P

    2015-02-01

    The Healthy Lifestyle-Diet Index (HLD-index), previously developed to assess the degree of adherence to dietary and lifestyle guidelines for primary schoolchildren, was revised according to updated recommendations. Τhe association of the revised HLD-index (R-HLD-index) with obesity and iron deficiency (ID) was also examined. A representative sample of 2660 primary schoolchildren from Greece (9-13 years old) participating in the 'Healthy Growth Study' was examined. Twelve components related to dietary and lifestyle patterns were used to develop the R-HLD-index. Scores from 0 up to 4 were assigned to each one of these components, giving a total score ranging from 0 to 48. The associations between the R-HLD-index, obesity and ID were examined via logistic regression analysis. The total score of the R-HLD-index calculated for each one of the study participants was found to range between 2 and 32 units, with higher scores being indicative of a healthier lifestyle and better diet quality. After adjusting for potential confounders, logistic regression analysis showed that an increase in the R-HLD-index score by one unit was associated with 6% lower odds for obesity. However, no significant association was observed between the R-HLD-index score and ID. The R-HLD-index may be a useful tool for public health policy makers and healthcare professionals when assessing diet quality and lifestyle patterns of primary schoolchildren. Identification of children with lower scores in the R-HLD-index and its individual components could guide tailored made interventions targeting specific children and behaviors. © 2013 The British Dietetic Association Ltd.

  15. The FINUT Healthy Lifestyles Guide: Beyond the Food Pyramid 1 2 3

    OpenAIRE

    Gil, Angel; Ruiz-Lopez, Maria Dolores; Fernandez-Gonzalez, Miguel; Martinez de Victoria, Emilio

    2014-01-01

    The WHO has proposed that health be promoted and protected through the development of an environment that enables sustainable actions at individual, community, national, and global levels. Indeed, food-based dietary guidelines, i.e., food pyramids, have been developed in numerous countries to disseminate nutritional information to the general population. However, wider recommendations are needed, with information on an active healthy lifestyle, not just healthy eating. The objective of the pr...

  16. Versatility of `hemorheologic fitness' according to exercise intensity: emphasis on the "healthy primitive lifestyle"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brun, Jean-Frédéric; Varlet-Marie, Emmanuelle; Chevance, Guillaume; Pollatz, Marion; Fedou, Christine; de Mauverger, Eric Raynaud

    2014-05-01

    We recently proposed a unifying hypothesis to reconcile unexpected findings in exercise hemorheology and the classical concepts of "hemorheologic fitness" and the "triphasic effects of exercise", based on the "healthy primitive lifestyle" paradigm. This paradigm assumes that evolution has selected genetic polymorphisms leading to insulin resistance as an adaptative strategy to cope with continuous low intensity physical activity and a special alimentation moderately high in protein, rich in low glycemic index carbohydrates, and poor in saturated fat. According to this protocol the true physiological picture would be that of an individual whose exercise and nutritional habits are close from this lifestyle, both sedentary subjects and trained athletes representing situations on the edge of this model. Unfortunately samples of people truly adhering to this ancestral lifestyle are hard to obtain. In order to address this picture we tried to compare databases obtained with our preceding published studies. As a model of the "healthy primitive lifestyle" we selected patients trained at low intensity (LI) and given an advice of protein intake around 1.2 g/kg/day. Results show a continuum for plasma viscosity which seems to be lower in athletes than LI-trained and even more sedentaries. When sedentary subjects become obese the most obvious characteristic is an increase in red blood cell (RBC) aggregation correlated to the size of fat stores. It is clear that 3 months of LI are not a perfect model of "healthy primitive lifestyle", but these data suggest that the most important effect of LI regular exercise is to decrease plasma viscosity and that sedentarity increases RBC aggregation mostly when it results in increased fat storage.

  17. [INFORMATION AWARENESS OF STUDENTS--FUTURE TECHNOLOGY FOR HEALTHY LIFESTYLES TEACHERS AND TRAINING IN THEIR EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES IN AREA OF HUMAN HEALTH PRESERVATION].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalinina, I A

    2015-01-01

    In the article there are presented results of the questionnaire survey of students--future technology for healthy lifestyles teachers on issues of shaping of health and a healthy lifestyle. There is given an estimation of the degree of the formedness in students adjustment for healthy lifestyle, including eating behavior and nutrition ration. There were determined basic directions of the shaping of the health-saving competence of the school teacher.

  18. Effectiveness of a healthy lifestyle intervention for chronic low back pain: a randomised controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Amanda; Wiggers, John; OʼBrien, Kate M; Wolfenden, Luke; Yoong, Sze Lin; Hodder, Rebecca K; Lee, Hopin; Robson, Emma K; McAuley, James H; Haskins, Robin; Kamper, Steven J; Rissel, Chris; Williams, Christopher M

    2018-06-01

    We assessed the effectiveness of a 6-month healthy lifestyle intervention, on pain intensity in patients with chronic low back pain who were overweight or obese. We conducted a pragmatic randomised controlled trial, embedded within a cohort multiple randomised controlled trial of patients on a waiting list for outpatient orthopaedic consultation at a tertiary hospital in NSW, Australia. Eligible patients with chronic low back pain (>3 months in duration) and body mass index ≥27 kg/m and education and referral to a 6-month telephone-based healthy lifestyle coaching service, or usual care. The primary outcome was pain intensity measured using an 11-point numerical rating scale, at baseline, 2 weeks, and monthly for 6 months. Data analysis was by intention-to-treat according to a prepublished analysis plan. Between May 13, 2015, and October 27, 2015, 160 patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to the intervention or usual care. We found no difference between groups for pain intensity over 6 months (area under the curve, mean difference = 6.5, 95% confidence interval -8.0 to 21.0; P = 0.38) or any secondary outcome. In the intervention group, 41% (n = 32) of participants reported an adverse event compared with 56% (n = 45) in the control group. Our findings show that providing education and advice and telephone-based healthy lifestyle coaching did not benefit patients with low back pain who were overweight or obese, compared with usual care. The intervention did not influence the targeted healthy lifestyle behaviours proposed to improve pain in this patient group.

  19. Predicting healthy lifestyle patterns among retirement age older adults in the WELL study: a latent class analysis of sex differences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Södergren, Marita; Wang, Wei Chun; Salmon, Jo; Ball, Kylie; Crawford, David; McNaughton, Sarah A

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this study was to identify subgroups of retirement age older adults with respect to their lifestyle patterns of eating, drinking, smoking, physical activity and TV viewing behaviors, and to examine the association between these patterns and socio-demographic covariates. The sample consisted of 3133 older adults aged 55-65 years from the Wellbeing, Eating and Exercise for a Long Life (WELL) study, 2010. This study used latent class analysis (stratified by sex), with a set of lifestyle indicators and including socio-demographic covariates. Statistical analyses were performed by generalized linear latent and mixed models in Stata. Two classes of lifestyle patterns were identified: Healthy (53% men and 72% women) and less healthy lifestyles. Physical activity, TV-viewing time, and fruit intake were good indicators distinguishing the "Healthier" class, whereas consumption of vegetables, alcohol (men) and fast food (women) could not clearly discriminate older adults in the two classes. Class membership was associated with education, body mass index, and self-rated health. This study contributes to the literature on lifestyle behaviors among older adults, and provides evidence that there are meaningful sex differences in lifestyle behaviors between subgroups of older adults. From a policy perspective, understanding indicators or "markers" of healthy and less healthy lifestyle patterns is important for identifying target groups for interventions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. App use, physical activity and healthy lifestyle: a cross sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dallinga, Joan Martine; Mennes, Matthijs; Alpay, Laurence; Bijwaard, Harmen; Baart de la Faille-Deutekom, Marije

    2015-08-28

    Physical inactivity is a growing public health concern. Use of mobile applications (apps) may be a powerful tool to encourage physical activity and a healthy lifestyle. For instance, apps may be used in the preparation of a running event. However, there is little evidence for the relationship between app use and change in physical activity and health in recreational runners. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the use of apps and changes in physical activity, health and lifestyle behaviour, and self-image of short and long distance runners. A cross sectional study was designed. A random selection of 15,000 runners (of 54,000 participants) of a 16 and 6.4 km recreational run (Dam tot Damloop) in the Netherlands was invited to participate in an online survey two days after the run. Anthropometrics, app use, activity level, preparation for running event, running physical activity (RPA), health and lifestyle, and self-image were addressed. A chi-squared test was conducted to analyse differences between app users and non-app users in baseline characteristics as well as in RPA, healthy lifestyle and perceived health. In addition, a multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to determine if app use could predict RPA, perceived health and lifestyle, and self-image. Of the 15,000 invited runners, 28% responded. For both distances, app use was positively related to RPA and feeling healthier (p motivating others to participate in running, and losing weight (p < 0.01). Furthermore, for 16 km runners app use was positively related to eating healthier, feeling more energetic and reporting a higher chance to maintain sport behaviour (p < 0.05). These results suggest that use of mobile apps has a beneficial role in the preparation of a running event, as it promotes health and physical activity. Further research is now needed to determine a causal relationship between app use and physical and health related behaviour.

  1. A Survey on Healthy Lifestyle of Health Care Workers in Andimeshk

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A Moradi

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Introduction: Health care workers play a major role in regard with the training of healthy life style to different groups in the society, who are considered as a suitable model of observing a healthy life style. Accordingly, this study aimed to determine the healthy lifestyle of health care workers in Andimeshk. Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, all the health care workers (n=170 were selected through census sampling method. The standard questionnaire of Health promotion lifestyle profile II (HPLPII was used in order to gather the study data, which then were analyzed by SPSS software (ver,19 using descriptive statistical tests, independent samples t-test, one-way ANOVA, as well as Pearson correlations coefficient. Results: The mean age of participants was 36.25±7.06 years. 73.2% 0f the health care workers in this study were married and 26.8% were males. The total mean HPLP was 130 ±15.34. In addition, health responsibility obtained the highest score, whereas the physical activity received the lowest score. A statistically significant correlation was detected between HPLP aspects and demographic factors (p>0.05. However, there was a statistically significant relationship between gender and nutrition(p=0.005, marital status and interpersonal relations (p=0.005, BMI and interpersonal relations(p=0.005, work background and  spiritual growth (p=0.016. Conclusion: The findings of the present study revealed that health-promoting behaviors were reported at an average level within health care workers. As a result, planning seems to be necessitated in regard with improving and promoting lifestyle of this important group of workers, who play a very significant role in the health promotion of the society.

  2. Obesity Prevention among Latino Youth: School Counselors' Role in Promoting Healthy Lifestyles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, Amy L.; Hayden, Laura A.

    2012-01-01

    Given the burgeoning obesity problem among Latino youth and concomitant health problems (Spiotta & Luma, 2008), school counselors have begun to recognize the need for culturally sensitive programming to promote healthy lifestyles. More theoretical, evidence-based programs are needed, however, to ensure Latino youth receive appropriate…

  3. Dietary quality, lifestyle factors and healthy ageing in Europe: the SENECA study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Haveman-Nies, A.; Groot, de C.P.G.M.; Staveren, van W.A.

    2003-01-01

    Objective: to identify dietary and lifestyle factors that contribute to healthy ageing. Subjects: for the analyses, data of the longitudinal SENECA study were used. The study population consisted of 1091 men and 1109 women aged 70-75 years from Belgium, France, Denmark, Italy, The Netherlands,

  4. The commercial marketing of healthy lifestyles to address the global child and adolescent obesity pandemic: prospects, pitfalls and priorities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kraak, Vivica I; Kumanyika, Shiriki K; Story, Mary

    2009-11-01

    Public- and private-sector initiatives to promote healthy eating and physical activity, called 'healthy lifestyles', are a relatively recent response to the global obesity pandemic. The present paper explores different views about marketing healthy lifestyles with a special emphasis on private-sector initiatives and public-private partnerships designed to reach young people. We discuss aspects of these initiatives and partnerships from three perspectives: (i) the potential for commercial marketing practices to have a favourable influence on reversing global obesity trends (termed prospects); (ii) unresolved dilemmas and challenges that may hinder progress (termed pitfalls); and (iii) the implementation and evaluation of coordinated and systematic actions (termed priorities) that may increase the likelihood that commercially marketed healthy-lifestyle initiatives and public-private partnerships can make a positive contribution to reverse the rise in overweight and obesity among young people globally.

  5. Carer Knowledge and Perceptions of Healthy Lifestyles for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melville, Craig A.; Hamilton, Sarah; Miller, Susan; Boyle, Susan; Robinson, Nicola; Pert, Carol; Hankey, Catherine R.

    2009-01-01

    Background: Carers can have a significant impact supporting people with intellectual disabilities to make healthy lifestyle choices. This study examines carers' training needs on diet and physical activity. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was undertaken of the knowledge and perceptions of carers supporting adults with intellectual disabilities.…

  6. Investing in a healthy lifestyle strategy: is it worth it?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benmarhnia, Tarik; Dionne, Pierre-Alexandre; Tchouaket, Éric; Fansi, Alvine K; Brousselle, Astrid

    2017-01-01

    In Quebec, various actors fund activities aimed at increasing physical activity, improving eating habits and reducing smoking. The objective was to evaluate how effective does the healthy lifestyle habits promotion (HLHP) strategy need to be to make to offset its costs. First, we built the logic model of the HLHP strategy. We then assessed the strategy's total cost as well as the direct health care expenditures associated with lifestyle-related risk factors (smoking, physical inactivity, insufficient intake of fruits and vegetables, obesity and overweight). Finally, we estimated the break-even point beyond which the economic benefits of the HLHP strategy would outweigh its costs. The HLHP strategy cost for 2010-2011 was estimated at $110 million. Direct healthcare expenditures associated with lifestyle-related risk factors were estimated at $4.161 billion. We estimated that 47 % of these expenditures were attributable to these risk factors. We concluded that the HLHP strategy cost corresponded to 5.6 % of the annual healthcare expenditures attributable to these risk factors. This study compared the economic value of HLHP activities against healthcare expenditures associated with targeted risk factors.

  7. Does a healthy lifestyle behaviour influence the prognosis of low back pain among men and women in a general population? A population-based cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bohman, Tony; Alfredsson, Lars; Jensen, Irene; Hallqvist, Johan; Vingård, Eva; Skillgate, Eva

    2014-12-30

    To study the influence of healthy lifestyle behaviour on the prognosis of occasional low back pain among men and women in a general population. Cohort study with a 4-year follow-up. General population in Stockholm County, Sweden. The study sample comprised 3938 men and 5056 women aged 18-84 from the Stockholm Public Health Cohort reporting occasional low back pain in the baseline questionnaire 2006. Lifestyle factors and potential confounders were assessed at baseline. The lifestyle factors smoking habits, alcohol consumption, leisure physical activity and consumption of fruit and vegetables were dichotomised using recommendations for a health-enhancing lifestyle and combined to form the exposure variable 'healthy lifestyle behaviour'. The exposure was categorised into five levels according to the number of healthy lifestyle factors met. The follow-up questionnaire in 2010 gave information about the outcome, long duration troublesome low back pain. Crude and adjusted binomial regression models were applied to estimate the association between the exposure and the outcome analysing men and women separately. The risk of developing long duration troublesome low back pain among women with occasional low back pain decreased with increasing healthy lifestyle behaviour (trend test: p=0.006). 21% (28/131) among women with no healthy lifestyle factor (reference) experienced the outcome compared to 9% (36/420) among women with all four factors. Compared to the reference group, the risk was reduced by 35% (RR 0.65, 95% CI 0.44 to 0.96) for women with one healthy lifestyle factor and 52% (RR 0.48, 95% CI 0.31 to 0.77) for women with all four healthy lifestyle factors. There were no clear associations found among men. Healthy lifestyle behaviour seems to decrease the risk of developing long duration troublesome low back pain among women with occasional low back pain and may be recommended to improve the prognosis. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to

  8. A Healthy Lifestyle Score Is Associated with Cardiometabolic and Neuroendocrine Risk Factors among Puerto Rican Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sotos-Prieto, Mercedes; Bhupathiraju, Shilpa N; Falcón, Luis M; Gao, Xiang; Tucker, Katherine L; Mattei, Josiemer

    2015-07-01

    Although individual healthy lifestyle behaviors may reduce cardiovascular disease risk, few studies have analyzed the combined effect of multiple lifestyle components as one all-inclusive measure on such outcomes, much less in minority populations. We aimed to develop a Healthy Lifestyle Score (HLS) that included several lifestyle recommendations and to test its association with metabolic syndrome (MetS) and allostatic load (AL) and their cardiometabolic and neuroendocrine factors in Puerto Ricans. In a cross-sectional study in 787 Puerto Ricans living in Boston (aged 45-75 y), we developed an HLS that ranged from 0 to 190 (higher score indicative of healthier lifestyle) and included 5 components (diet, physical activity and sedentary behaviors, smoking, social support and network, and sleep). Multivariable-adjusted models were used to test associations between the HLS and biomarkers of dysregulation and odds of MetS and high AL (≥4 out of 10 components). The HLS showed adequate internal consistency (ρ = 0.31-0.69) and was inversely associated with urinary cortisol (β ± SE = -0.22 ± 0.11; P = 0.042), epinephrine (-0.20 ± 0.09; P = 0.017), and norepinephrine (-0.26 ± 0.11; P = 0.016); waist circumference (-0.014 ± 0.004; P = 0.003); and serum insulin (-0.30 ± 0.13; P = 0.028) and positively associated with plasma HDL cholesterol (0.007 ± 0.003; P = 0.021) after adjustment for potential confounders. For each 20-unit increase in HLS, participants had 19% (95% CI: 2%, 33%) and 25% (11%, 36%) lower odds of MetS or AL, respectively. Healthier scores for social support and network and smoking components were associated with lower odds of high AL (P lifestyle components. Following an overall healthy lifestyle that comprises a combination of multiple behaviors may provide stronger protection against MetS and AL in Puerto Rican adults than individual components. The HLS may be a useful tool for examining health-related outcomes. This trial was registered at

  9. Healthy lifestyle factors and risk of cardiovascular events and mortality in treatment-resistant hypertension: the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diaz, Keith M; Booth, John N; Calhoun, David A; Irvin, Marguerite R; Howard, George; Safford, Monika M; Muntner, Paul; Shimbo, Daichi

    2014-09-01

    Few data exist on whether healthy lifestyle factors are associated with better prognosis among individuals with apparent treatment-resistant hypertension, a high-risk phenotype of hypertension. The purpose of this study was to assess the association of healthy lifestyle factors with cardiovascular events, all-cause mortality, and cardiovascular mortality among individuals with apparent treatment-resistant hypertension. We studied participants (n=2043) from the population-based Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study with apparent treatment-resistant hypertension (blood pressure ≥140/90 mm Hg despite the use of 3 antihypertensive medication classes or the use of ≥4 classes of antihypertensive medication regardless of blood pressure control). Six healthy lifestyle factors adapted from guidelines for the management of hypertension (normal waist circumference, physical activity ≥4 times/week, nonsmoking, moderate alcohol consumption, high Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet score, and low sodium-to-potassium intake ratio) were examined. A greater number of healthy lifestyle factors were associated with lower risk for cardiovascular events (n=360) during a mean follow-up of 4.5 years. Multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios [HR (95% confidence interval)] for cardiovascular events comparing individuals with 2, 3, and 4 to 6 versus 0 to 1 healthy lifestyle factors were 0.91 (0.68-1.21), 0.80 (0.57-1.14), and 0.63 (0.41-0.95), respectively (P-trend=0.020). Physical activity and nonsmoking were individual healthy lifestyle factors significantly associated with lower risk for cardiovascular events. Similar associations were observed between healthy lifestyle factors and risk for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. In conclusion, healthy lifestyle factors, particularly physical activity and nonsmoking, are associated with a lower risk for cardiovascular events and mortality among individuals with apparent treatment

  10. Healthy lifestyles reduce the incidence of chronic diseases and dementia: evidence from the Caerphilly cohort study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter Elwood

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Healthy lifestyles based on non-smoking, an acceptable BMI, a high fruit and vegetable intake, regular physical activity, and low/moderate alcohol intake, are associated with reductions in the incidence of certain chronic diseases, but to date there is limited evidence on cognitive function and dementia. METHODS: In 1979 healthy behaviours were recorded on 2,235 men aged 45-59 years in Caerphilly, UK. During the following 30 years incident diabetes, vascular disease, cancer and death were recorded, and in 2004 cognitive state was determined. FINDINGS: Men who followed four or five of the behaviours had an odds ratio (OR and confidence intervals (CI for diabetes, corrected for age and social class, of 0.50 (95% CI: 0.19, 1.31; P for trend with increasing numbers of healthy behaviours <0.0005. For vascular disease the OR was 0.50 (95% CI: 0.30, 0.84; P for trend <0.0005, and there was a delay in vascular disease events of up to 12 years. Cancer incidence was not significantly related to lifestyle although there was a reduction associated with non-smoking (OR: 0.65; 95% CI: 0.54, 0.79. All-cause mortality was reduced in men following four or five behaviours (OR 0.40; 95% CI: 0.24, 0.67; P for trend <0.005. After further adjustment for NART, the OR for men following four or five healthy behaviours was 0.36 (95% CI: 0.12, 1.09; P for trend <0.001 for cognitive impairment, and 0.36 (95% CI: 0.07, 1.99; P for trend <0.02 for dementia. The adoption of a healthy lifestyle by men was low and appears not to have changed during the subsequent 30 years, with under 1% of men following all five of the behaviours and 5% reporting four or more in 1979 and in 2009. INTERPRETATION: A healthy lifestyle is associated with increased disease-free survival and reduced cognitive impairment but the uptake remains low.

  11. Effect of parity on healthy promotion lifestyle behavior in women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nazik, Hakan; Nazik, Evşen; Özdemir, Funda; Gül, Şule; Tezel, Ayfer; Narin, Raziye

    2015-01-01

    Health-promoting lifestyle behaviors are not only for the prevention of a disease or discomfort, but are also behaviors that aim to improve the individual's general health and well-being. Nurses have an important position in the development of healthy lifestyle behaviors in women. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of parity on health-promoting lifestyle behaviors in women. This descriptive and cross-sectional survey was performed in Adana, Turkey. This study was conducted with 352 women. The questionnaire consisted of two parts; the first part consisted of questions that assessed the socio-demographic and obstetric characteristics, and the second part employed the "Health Promotion Lifestyle Profile Scale" (HPLP). Data analysis included percentage, arithmetic average, and ANOVA tests. The results revealed that 24.1% of the women had no parity, 13.6% had one parity, 30.7% had two parities, 14.6% had three parities, and 17% had four and above parities. The mean total HPLP was 126.66±18.12 (interpersonal support subscale, 24.46±4.02; nutrition subscale, 21.59±3.92; self-actualization subscale, 24.42±4.30; stress management subscale, 18.73±3.81; health responsibility subscale, 21.75±4.31; and exercise subscale, 15.71±4.22). The health behavior of women was moderate. A statistically significant correlation was found between the number of parities and the Health Responsibility, Nutrition, Interpersonal Support, which is the subscale of the HPLP Scale.

  12. Healthy lifestyle intervention for adult clinic patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coughlin, Steven S; Hatzigeorgiou, Christos; Anglin, Judith; Xie, Ding; Besenyi, Gina M; De Leo, Gianluca; Stewart, Jessica; Wilkins, Thad

    2017-01-01

    Diet and exercise therapy have been reported to be effective in improving blood glucose control and are an important part of treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. The goal of this study is to examine the efficacy of a healthy lifestyle intervention for adult clinic patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, as measured by Hgb-A1c, cardiovascular indicators, physical activity, weight, and BMI. Also of interest are optimal strategies for subject recruitment, the number of intervention sessions attended, and participant use of the Fitbit watch to monitor their physical activity and track food and beverage consumption. A pre/post-test design will be used in this pilot study. Non-institutionalized adult patients (n=50) aged 18-65 years who have been seen at the Augusta Health outpatient clinics (General Internal Medicine or Family Medicine) for type 2 diabetes in the past 12 months, and who are interested in reducing their risk of disease recurrence through healthy lifestyle behaviors, will be eligible to participate. At orientation visit, eligible individuals will be asked to provide written informed consent. Consenting volunteers (n=50) will be asked to complete the baseline and 6-month follow-up questionnaire and to participate in 12 weekly group sessions of 90 min duration, involving physical activity and to meet with a dietitian (baseline, one month, 90 days) to receive individualized advice on diet and nutrition. The technology-based intervention will use wrist-worn Fitbit Blaze physical activity monitoring devices. This pilot study will provide important information about the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a healthy lifestyle intervention for adult clinic patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The use of consumer-facing devices such as the Fitbit watch has the potential advantage over the use of research accelerometers, pedometers, or actigraphs in increasing the likelihood that the intervention will be sustainable after the study ends.

  13. Extension Agent Knowledge and Programming Behaviors Regarding Healthy Lifestyles Education in Georgia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lynch, Dana R.; Fuhrman, Nicholas E.; Duncan, Dennis W.; Hanula, Gail M.

    2015-01-01

    Healthy lifestyles education (HLE) is defined as nutrition and physical activity education aimed at controlling or preventing serious health issues. The purpose of the study reported here was to determine knowledge and behaviors of Extension Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS) and 4-H agents concerning HLE. Eighty-five and 86% of FACS and 4-H…

  14. Barriers and Facilitators to Healthy Lifestyle Changes in Minority Ethnic Populations in the UK: a Narrative Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patel, Naina; Ferrer, Harriet Batista; Tyrer, Freya; Wray, Paula; Farooqi, Azhar; Davies, Melanie J; Khunti, Kamlesh

    2017-12-01

    Minority ethnic populations experience a disproportionate burden of health inequalities compared with the rest of the population, including an increased risk of type 2 diabetes (T2DM). The purpose of this narrative review was to explore knowledge and attitudes around diabetes, physical activity and diet and identify barriers and facilitators to healthy lifestyle changes in minority ethnic populations in the UK. The narrative review focused on three key research topics in relation to barriers and facilitators to healthy lifestyle changes in minority adult ethnic populations: (i) knowledge and attitudes about diabetes risk; (ii) current behaviours and knowledge about physical activity and diet; and (iii) barriers and facilitators to living a healthier lifestyle. Nearly all of the studies that we identified reported on South Asian minority ethnic populations; we found very few studies on other minority ethnic populations. Among South Asian communities, there was generally a good understanding of diabetes and its associated risk factors. However, knowledge about the levels of physical activity required to gain health benefits was relatively poor and eating patterns varied. Barriers to healthy lifestyle changes identified included language barriers, prioritising work over physical activity to provide for the family, cultural barriers with regard to serving and eating traditional food, different perceptions of a healthy body weight and fear of racial harassment or abuse when exercising. Additional barriers for South Asian women included expectations to remain in the home, fear for personal safety, lack of same gender venues and concerns over the acceptability of wearing 'western' exercise clothing. Facilitators included concern that weight gain might compromise family/carer responsibilities, desire to be healthy, T2DM diagnosis and exercise classes held in 'safe' environments such as places of worship. Our findings suggest that South Asian communities are less likely to

  15. A healthy lifestyle index is associated with reduced risk of colorectal adenomatous polyps among non-users of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tabung, Fred K; Steck, Susan E; Burch, James B; Chen, Chin-Fu; Zhang, Hongmei; Hurley, Thomas G; Cavicchia, Philip; Alexander, Melannie; Shivappa, Nitin; Creek, Kim E; Lloyd, Stephen C; Hebert, James R

    2015-02-01

    In a Columbia, South Carolina-based case-control study, we developed a healthy lifestyle index from five modifiable lifestyle factors (smoking, alcohol intake, physical activity, diet, and body mass index), and examined the association between this lifestyle index and the risk of colorectal adenomatous polyps (adenoma). Participants were recruited from a local endoscopy center and completed questionnaires related to lifestyle behaviors prior to colonoscopy. We scored responses on each of five lifestyle factors as unhealthy (0 point) or healthy (1 point) based on current evidence and recommendations. We added the five scores to produce a combined lifestyle index for each participant ranging from 0 (least healthy) to 5 (healthiest), which was dichotomized into unhealthy (0-2) and healthy (3-5) lifestyle scores. We used logistic regression to calculate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for adenoma with adjustment for multiple covariates. We identified 47 adenoma cases and 91 controls. In the main analyses, there was a statistically nonsignificant inverse association between the dichotomous (OR 0.54; 95% CI 0.22, 1.29) and continuous (OR 0.75; 95% CI 0.51, 1.10) lifestyle index and adenoma. Odds of adenoma were significantly modified by the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (p(interaction) = 0.04). For participants who reported no use of NSAIDs, those in the healthy lifestyle category had a 72% lower odds of adenoma as compared to those in the unhealthy category (OR 0.28; 95% CI 0.08, 0.98), whereas a one-unit increase in the index significantly reduced odds of adenoma by 53% (OR 0.47; 95% CI 0.26, 0.88). Although these findings should be interpreted cautiously given our small sample size, our results suggest that higher scores from this index are associated with reduced odds of adenomas, especially in non-users of NSAIDs. Lifestyle interventions are required to test this approach as a strategy to prevent colorectal adenomatous

  16. Effects of the COPE Cognitive Behavioral Skills Building TEEN Program on the Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors and Mental Health of Appalachian Early Adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoying, Jacqueline; Melnyk, Bernadette Mazurek; Arcoleo, Kimberly

    2016-01-01

    Appalachian adolescents have a high prevalence of obesity and mental health problems that exceed national rates, with the two conditions often co-existing. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a 15-session cognitive-behavioral skills building intervention (COPE [Creating Opportunities for Personal Empowerment] Healthy Lifestyles TEEN [Thinking, Emotions, Exercise, and Nutrition] Program) on healthy lifestyle behaviors, physical health, and mental health of rural early adolescents. A pre- and posttest pre-experimental design was used with follow-up immediately after the intervention. Results support improvement in the students' anxiety, depression, disruptive behavior, and self-concept scores after the COPE intervention compared with baseline. Additionally, healthy lifestyle behavior scores improved before the intervention compared with after the intervention. COPE is a promising intervention that improves mental health and healthy lifestyle behaviors and can be integrated routinely into school-based settings. Copyright © 2016 National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. The identification with the image “I – athlete” as a basis for motivating healthy lifestyle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S.A. Kuznetsov

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available The article is devoted to a comparative analysis of subject field of sports psychology and psychology of physical education, related to fitness classes. We consider the motivational factors and mechanisms that influence professional sport and fitness activities. We review Russian and foreign theoretical research on this problem. Particular attention is paid to identification with the image of "I – athlete" as one of the major mechanisms of motivation for people focused on a healthy lifestyle. We describe the results of a pilot study of healthy lifestyle representations among professional athletes and people involved in fitness. We propose a prospective complex study of various aspects of motivation in people actively involved in fitness.

  18. Sociocultural tailoring of a healthy lifestyle intervention to reduce cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes risk among Latinos.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mudd-Martin, Gia; Martinez, Maria C; Rayens, Mary Kay; Gokun, Yevgeniya; Meininger, Janet C

    2013-11-27

    Suboptimal lifestyle factors in combination with genetic susceptibility contribute to cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes risk among Latinos. We describe a community-academic collaboration that developed and explored the feasibility of implementing a socioculturally tailored, healthy lifestyle intervention integrating genomics and family history education to reduce risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes among Latinos. The community-based participatory research was conducted with communities in Kentucky, which has a rapidly growing Latino population. This growth underscores the need for socioculturally appropriate health resources. Su Corazon, Su Vida (Your Heart, Your Life) is a Spanish-language, healthy lifestyle educational program to reduce cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes risk among Latinos. Twenty natural leaders from an urban Latino community in Kentucky participated in sociocultural tailoring of the program and development of a genomics and family history module. The tailored program was presented to 22 participants to explore implementation feasibility and assess appropriateness for community use. Preintervention and postintervention assessments of genomic knowledge and lifestyle behaviors and qualitative postintervention evaluations were conducted. Postintervention improvements in health-promoting lifestyle choices and genomic knowledge specific to cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes suggested that the program may be effective in reducing risk. Feedback indicated the program was socioculturally acceptable and responsive to community needs. These findings indicated that a tailored healthy lifestyle program integrating genomics and family history education was socioculturally appropriate and may feasibly be implemented to reduce cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes risk in a Latino community with limited health care resources. The project highlights contributions of community-based processes in tailoring

  19. Comparison of healthy lifestyle behaviors among individuals with and without cardiovascular diseases from urban and rural areas in China: A cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Chuangshi; Li, Wei; Yin, Lu; Bo, Jian; Peng, Yaguang; Wang, Yang

    2017-01-01

    The study aimed to explore the gap of prevalence of healthy lifestyle behaviors including smoking cessation, quitting drinking, physical activity and healthy eating between Chinese adults with and without cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). This study is a cross-sectional component of Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE)-China study, which recruited ~46,000 participants from 70 rural and 45 urban communities between 2005 and 2009. Participants were divided into disease (with CVDs) and control (without any diseases) groups. The adjusted rates were estimated for different strata by the generalized, linear mixed-effects model, including community as a random effect with additional adjustment for age, sex, education and income. Among 40,490 participants, healthy lifestyle behaviors (disease group versus control group: urban areas: 7.8% versus 8.1%; rural areas: 3.4% versus 3.2%). The rates of smoking cessation and quitting drinking were significantly higher in disease group for both urban and rural residents (Phealthy lifestyle behaviors except physical activity in low-income regions (Phealthy eating among rural residents from low-income regions (Phealthy lifestyle behaviors, but it still indicated a large gap between the actual and ideal adoption of healthy lifestyle behaviors, which called for the promotion of population-wide strategies to modify lifestyle behaviors in addition to individual health-care intervention strategies.

  20. Creating a pro-active health care system to combat chronic diseases in Sri Lanka: the central role of preventive medicine and healthy lifestyle behaviors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sagner, Michael; Arena, Ross; McNeil, Amy; Brahmam, Ginnela N V; Hills, Andrew P; De Silva, H Janaka; Karunapema, R P Palitha; Wijeyaratne, Chandrika N; Arambepola, Carukshi; Puska, Pekka

    2016-10-01

    The current burden and future escalating threat of chronic diseases, constitutes the major global public health challenge. In Sri Lanka, cardiovascular diseases account for the majority of annual deaths. Data from Sri Lanka also indicate a high incidence and prevalence of pre-diabetes and diabetes; 1 in 5 adults have elevated blood sugar in Sri Lanka. It is well established that chronic diseases share four primary behavioral risk factors: 1) tobacco use; 2) unhealthy diet; 3) physical inactivity; and 4) harmful use of alcohol. Evidence has convincingly shown that replacing these behavioral risk factors with the converse, healthy lifestyle characteristics, decrease the risk of poor outcomes associated with chronic disease by 60 to 80%. In essence, prevention or reversal of these behavioral risk factors with effective healthy lifestyle programing and interventions is the solution to the current chronic disease crisis. Expert commentary: Healthy lifestyle is medicine with global applicability, including Sri Lanka and the rest of the South Asia region. This policy statement will discuss the chronic disease crisis in Sri Lanka, its current policies and action implemented to promote healthy lifestyles, and further recommendations on preventive medicine and healthy lifestyle initiatives that are needed to move forward.

  1. Role modeling as an early childhood obesity prevention strategy: effect of parents and teachers on preschool children's healthy lifestyle habits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Natale, Ruby A; Messiah, Sarah E; Asfour, Lila; Uhlhorn, Susan B; Delamater, Alan; Arheart, Kris L

    2014-01-01

    To assess the effectiveness of a child care center-based parent and teacher healthy lifestyle role-modeling program on child nutrition and physical activity outcomes. Child care centers (N = 28) serving low-income families were randomized to intervention or control arms. Intervention centers (N = 12) implemented (1) menu modifications, (2) a child's healthy lifestyle curriculum, and (3) an adult (teacher- and parent-focused) healthy lifestyle role-modeling curriculum. Control centers (N = 16) received an attention control safety curriculum. Nutrition and physical activity data were collected at the beginning (T1) and at the end (T2) of the school year. Exploratory factor analysis identified positive and negative nutrition and physical activity practices by children, parents, and teachers. Intervention parents' baseline (β = .52, p consumption (β = .47, p consumption of fruits/vegetables from T1 to T2. Intervention parents significantly influenced a decrease in children's junk food consumption (β = -.04, p junk food consumption (β = .60, p junk food consumption (β = .11, p = .01) and sedentary behavior (β = .09, p consumption of fruits/vegetables, junk food, and level of sedentary behavior. Future obesity prevention intervention efforts targeting this age group should include parents as healthy lifestyle role models for their children.

  2. Gender and psychosocial factors associated with healthy lifestyle in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil) cohort: a cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patrão, Ana Luísa; Almeida, Maria da Conceição; Matos, Sheila Maria Alvim; Chor, Dora; Aquino, Estela M L

    2017-08-28

    It has been estimated that over 50% of the premature deaths occurring in Western countries can be attributed to causes rooted in lifestyle. In turn, leading a healthy lifestyle has also been associated with a wide range of psychosocial factors. Today, it is known that these differ among men and women. The present article aimed to identify, from a gender-based perspective, the psychosocial factors associated with healthy lifestyles in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil) cohort, the largest study concerning adult health conducted in Latin America to date. This cross-sectional study was conducted using ELSA-Brasil baseline data, collected between 2008 and 2010. Six Brazilian public higher education and research institutions. The ELSA-Brasil cohort consists of approximately 15 000 employees (8218 women and 6887 men), both currently working and retired. The lifestyle indicator was constructed by summing the scores attributed to four different behaviours. The women of the ELSA-Brasil cohort have healthier lifestyles than men. In women, strong associations were found between a healthy lifestyle and age 60 years or older, Asian race and university level of education or higher. In men, being 60 years or older, of Asian or Caucasian race, having a high-school equivalent level of education or higher, being retired, having a housekeeper, having a good or very good self-perception of health and being satisfied with body image were the psychosocial factors associated with leading a healthy lifestyle. The factors that influenced healthy lifestyles were found to differ among men and women, a fact that must be addressed when developing programmes designed to promote health. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  3. Difference in adherence to and influencing factors of a healthy lifestyle between middle-aged and elderly people in Korea: A multilevel analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Son, Ki Young; Park, Sang Min; Lee, Juhyun; Kim, Chang Yup

    2015-06-01

    Comprehensive research for factors related to healthy lifestyles of the elderly is limited. The present study aimed to elucidate the factors associated with adherence to a healthy lifestyle by age groups. The present study was based on data from the 2005 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We calculated crude proportions and adjusted proportions of cigarette smokers, problem alcohol drinkers, and physically inactive people in two age groups (40-59 years and ≥60 years). We carried out multilevel analysis to elucidate factors associated with healthy lifestyles. Of 3194 respondents included in the analysis, 1154 (36.13%) were aged 60 years or older. Older participants smoked less (23.0% vs 17.4%) and exercised less frequently (52.4% vs 66.9%; all P elderly (OR 1.037, 95% CI 1.005-1.070). Different factors were associated with healthy lifestyles of elderly people when compared with middle-aged people. In addition, local tax per capita, an area level variable, was more likely to be associated with smoking in the elderly than the middle-aged group. © 2014 Japan Geriatrics Society.

  4. Lay evaluation of health and healthy lifestyles: evidence from three studies.

    OpenAIRE

    Backett, K; Davison, C; Mullen, K

    1994-01-01

    The maintenance of good health in the well population is an important goal of modern general practice. This often takes the form of encouraging patients to lead healthier lives, particularly where diet, exercise, alcohol and smoking are concerned. The fact that many people appear not to follow 'healthy lifestyle' advice suggests that more needs to be known about how relatively simple health promotion messages are understood and evaluated by the lay public. In this paper, findings from three i...

  5. Lifestyle and Health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martyna Gorzelak

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Admission:  The World Health Organization defines lifestyle as a way of being associated with the interaction of man and the conditions, in which he lives, as well as individual behavior patterns, which have been determined by socio-cultural factors and personal characteristics charakter2. Aim: Aim of the study is to identify the impact of lifestyle on human health in every stage of life. Lifestyle is defined as all the characteristics of the behavior of a particular individual or community. It refers to behavior occurring in everyday life and those routinely repeated. The lifestyle behaviors include inter alia: attitudes to work and use, leisure, nutrition, clothing and relationships. Summary: Healthy lifestyle developed among people of all ages, will transfer into later adult health, their children, and the elderly. A healthy lifestyle improves the quality of life in every stage.

  6. Long-term outcomes from Healthy Eating and Exercise Lifestyle Program for overweight people with heart disease and diabetes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alharbi, Muaddi; Gallagher, Robyn; Kirkness, Ann; Sibbritt, David; Tofler, Geoffrey

    2016-02-01

    The benefits of exercise and weight reduction for overweight or obese people with coronary heart disease and/or diabetes mellitus are well recognised. The Healthy Eating and Exercise Lifestyle Program demonstrated these outcomes at 4 months, but longer-term outcomes are not yet reported. To determine whether positive weight, body mass index, waist and exercise duration outcomes were sustained in the long term (12 months) and to identify the independent predictors of these outcomes at 4 and 12 months. Longitudinal design, combining data of all Healthy Eating and Exercise Lifestyle Program participants (intervention and wait-list control, n = 134). Participants had a body mass index between 27 and 39 kg/m(2) and had completed cardiac rehabilitation and/or diabetes education programmes. Healthy Eating and Exercise Lifestyle Program intervention included an active phase of two 1-hour group-based supervised structured exercise sessions every week for 4 months and four 90-minute group information and support sessions. The maintenance phase included one 90-minute group-based booster information session and three 15-minute goal-focused telephone follow-up calls over 8 months. Participants had statistically significant reductions from baseline in weight, body mass index and waist circumference and improvements in exercise duration and capacity at 4 and 12 months. Time, self-efficacy, depressive symptoms and male gender were independent predictors for body mass index, waist and/or exercise duration (p Healthy Eating and Exercise Lifestyle Program was an effective programme to achieve and sustain weight loss and increase exercise participation over 1 year. © The European Society of Cardiology 2014.

  7. Perceptions, attitudes and challenges about obesity and adopting a healthy lifestyle among health workers in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal province.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simfukwe, Patrick; Van Wyk, Brian; Swart, Charl

    2017-06-22

    The prevalence of obesity is reported to be high and increasing among health workers, in both high-income and low-income countries, which in turn is a common risk factor for all non-communicable diseases. This is alarming, as health workers not only serve the community's health needs but should also serve as role models for a healthy lifestyle. It is therefore important that obesity among health workers is addressed and prevented. The aim of the study was to explore perceptions and attitudes about obesity among health workers in three selected hospitals in Pietermaritzburg, and to identify the barriers to adopting a healthy lifestyle. An explorative and descriptive qualitative study design was used, utilising in-depth interviews for data collection. A total of 18 health workers from the three selected hospitals in the metropolitan were individually interviewed. Thematic analysis was done, using a priori themes that were derived from the Health Belief Model. All health workers were aware of the negative consequences of being overweight or obese. However, only a few of the participants chose to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Barriers to adopting a healthy lifestyle included institutional as well as attitudinal factors. Public healthcare facilities need to invest in their work force by giving health workers access to physical exercise facilities and affordable healthy food within the hospital. Health organisations should introduce health behaviour change programmes to combat negative established cultural norms among health staff.

  8. Association between a Healthy Lifestyle Score and inflammatory markers among Puerto Rican adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sotos-Prieto, M; Bhupathiraju, S N; Falcon, L M; Gao, X; Tucker, K L; Mattei, J

    2016-03-01

    The relationship between multiple lifestyle components analyzed in combination and inflammation remains understudied. We aimed to assess the association between a Healthy Lifestyle Score (HLS) that includes adherence to five behavioral components (diet, physical activity and sedentary behaviors, smoking, social support and network, and sleep) and inflammatory markers, as well as the role of the HLS in inflammation among individuals with cardiometabolic conditions, in Puerto Rican adults. In a cross-sectional study of 842 Puerto Ricans adults (aged 45-75 y) living in Boston, MA, the HLS (range = 0-190; maximum indicative of healthiest adherence) was analyzed for association with three inflammatory markers: interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and C-reactive protein (CRP). In multivariable-adjusted models, the HLS was inversely associated with IL-6 (β ± SE = -0.55 ± 0.13; P markers independently of the other HLS components. Significant inverse associations were observed for each 20-unit increase in HLS and IL-6 and TNF-α for participants with hypertension (n = 600; β ± SE = -0.58 ± 0.16; -0.46 ± 0.16, respectively) and with overweight/obesity (n = 743; β ± SE = -0.59 ± 0.13; -0.50 ± 0.14, respectively), but not for those with diabetes (n = 187) or heart disease (n = 192). The HLS was not associated with CRP, after adjustment for potential confounders. Higher adherence to multiple lifestyle behaviors was associated with lower concentrations of inflammatory markers. Because low-grade inflammation may precede chronic diseases, following an overall healthy lifestyle may help lower risk of these diseases. Copyright © 2015 The Italian Society of Diabetology, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Influence of sports games classes in specialized sections on formation of healthy lifestyle at students of the highest educational institutions

    OpenAIRE

    Kudryavtsev, M.; Galimova, A.; Alshuvayli, Kh.; Altuvayni, A.

    2018-01-01

    In modern society, the problem of formation of healthy lifestyle at youth, in particular, at students of the highest educational institutions is very relevant. Sport is a good mean for motivation, in this case – sports games. Purpose: to reveal consequences of participation in sports games and influence of these actions on healthy lifestyle of students of the highest educational institutions, to designate a role of classes in the sections, specializing in preparation for sports games in this ...

  10. Knowledge, attitude and practice of bankers in Lagos Island local government area regarding healthy lifestyle in the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A B Adelowo

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Background and Objective: Non - communicable diseases (NCDs are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in many developed and developing countries. Nigeria is experiencing an epidemiological transition with a double burden of communicable and non communicable diseases. This study was carried out to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of bankers in Lagos Island Local Government Area on healthy lifestyle in relation to the prevention and control of NCDs. Material and Methods: Cross sectional descriptive design was employed. Multistage sampling technique was used to collect information from 260 consenting bankers using pretested, interviewer administered questionnaires. The questionnaire collected information on biodata, knowledge, attitude and practice. Data obtained was analyzed using Epi info version 3.5.3 Results: The mean age of 260 the respondents was 33.5 ± 5.7 years. Only 26.9% had good knowledge of healthy lifestyle while 87.3% had good attitude towards healthy lifestyle. Only 9.7% consumed healthy diet, while majority 88.0% and 72.7% had good practice regarding tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption respectively. Gender was a significant predictor of alcohol use, 55.8% of the study population engaged in adequate physical activity, while very few (3.8% of the respondents engaged in healthy lifestyle. Conclusion: Although the bankers had good attitude towards healthy lifestyle, their knowledge and practice of healthy living was poor. The management of every bank should invest in periodic health promotion and wellness programs that will promote all the components of healthy living for their employees.

  11. The Mediterranean healthy eating, ageing, and lifestyle (MEAL) study: rationale and study design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grosso, Giuseppe; Marventano, Stefano; D'Urso, Maurizio; Mistretta, Antonio; Galvano, Fabio

    2017-08-01

    There is accumulating evidence suggesting that Mediterranean lifestyles, including nutrition and sleeping patterns as well as social integration, may play a role in reducing age-related diseases. However, the literature is mostly deficient of evidence provided by Italian Mediterranean islands that more closely adhered to the originally described lifestyles. In this paper, we described the rationale and the study design of the Mediterranean healthy Eating, Ageing, and Lifestyle (MEAL) study, a prospective population-based cohort established in Sicily, southern Italy. The main exposures investigated are classical determinants of health, including demographic, nutritional habits, smoking and physical activity status, as well as eating-related behaviors, sleeping habits, sun exposure, social resources, and perceived stress. Anthropometric measurements will be collected. The main outcomes included depression, quality of life, and, after the follow-up period, also cardiovascular disease and cancer. The MEAL study may provide important data to increase our knowledge regarding the prevalence, incidence, and risk factors of age-related disorders in the Mediterranean region.

  12. Evaluation of the level of the competence development in the field of disease prevention and healthy lifestyle among medical students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. V. Sivas

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The principles of competent approach in the teaching of the medical university students in the disease prevention and healthy lifestyle are given in the article. For the formation of competence in the disease prevention and healthy lifestyles the pedagogical integral technology is used, developed by integrating content and disciplines of the medical education and Physical Culture. Further formation of competences in the preventive medicine and healthy lifestyle is being accomplished through the project method of teaching based on active projects. Advantages of the assessment of the competence of the medical university students in disease prevention and healthy lifestyle in the form of an authentic representational portfolio are given in the article. Modern assessment activity in education is focused on personal achievements of students, which may be reflected in different versions of portfolio. Authentic assessment is the most convenient and reliable in the case of the competence assessment, since it focuses primarily on the practical results of activity takes into account and promotes initiative, personal potential of the student, provides an opportunity to see the results and to obtain an assessment of achievements, allows not only to generate individual educational trajectory, but also to monitor the level of development of the educational content. The article reveals the content of the authentic representational portfolio and provides recommendations on its design and evaluation.

  13. Mixed-Methods Evaluation of a Healthy Exercise, Eating, and Lifestyle Program for Primary Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cochrane, Thomas; Davey, Rachel C.

    2017-01-01

    BAckground: Reversing decline in physical fitness and increase in excess body weight in school children are considered major public health challenges. We evaluated a proposed model to integrate a screening and healthy exercise, eating, and lifestyle program (HEELP) into primary schools in Canberra, Australia. Objectives were: (1) to establish body…

  14. Acculturation and healthy lifestyle habits among Hispanics in United States-Mexico border communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghaddar, Suad; Brown, Cynthia J; Pagán, José A; Díaz, Violeta

    2010-09-01

    To explore the relationship between acculturation and healthy lifestyle habits in the largely Hispanic populations living in underserved communities in the United States of America along the U.S.-Mexico border. A cross-sectional study was conducted from April 2006 to June 2008 using survey data from the Alliance for a Healthy Border, a program designed to reduce health disparities in the U.S.-Mexico border region by funding nutrition and physical activity education programs at 12 federally qualified community health centers in Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas. The survey included questions on acculturation, diet, exercise, and demographic factors and was completed by 2,381 Alliance program participants, of whom 95.3% were Hispanic and 45.4% were under the U.S. poverty level for 2007. Chi-square (χ2) and Student's t tests were used for bivariate comparisons between acculturation and dietary and physical activity measures. Linear regression and binary logistic regression were used to control for factors associated with nutrition and exercise. Based on univariate tests and confirmed by regression analysis controlling for sociodemographic and health variables, less acculturated survey respondents reported a significantly higher frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption and healthier dietary habits than those who were more acculturated. Adjusted binary logistic regression confirmed that individuals with low language acculturation were less likely to engage in physical activity than those with moderate to high acculturation (odds ratio 0.75, 95% confidence interval 0.59-0.95). Findings confirmed an association between acculturation and healthy lifestyle habits and supported the hypothesis that acculturation in border community populations tends to decrease the practice of some healthy dietary habits while increasing exposure to and awareness of the importance of other healthy behaviors.

  15. Depressive symptoms impact health-promoting lifestyle behaviors and quality of life in healthy women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savoy, Suzanne M; Penckofer, Sue

    2015-01-01

    Depressive symptoms are an independent risk factor of cardiovascular disease (CVD). More than 15% of persons with CVD have depressive symptoms, which are twice as likely to occur in women. Depressive symptoms in women being screened for CVD have not been well studied. The relationships between depressive symptoms, health-promoting lifestyle behaviors, heart disease risk awareness, cardiac risk, and quality of life (QOL) in women were investigated. Whether the effect of depressive symptoms on QOL was mediated by cardiac risk and/or health-promoting lifestyle behaviors was also examined. The Wilson-Cleary Health-Related Quality of Life Model guided this descriptive study. A convenience sample of 125 women was recruited from cardiac health screening events. The study measurements were the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale; the Framingham risk score; the Ferrans-Powers Quality of Life Index Generic Version-III; the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile-II; and questions related to heart disease risk, awareness of heart disease risk, health history, and demographics. Body mass index, percentage of body fat, and lipid profile were also measured. More than one-third (34%) of the women reported significant depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms were not associated with cardiac risk or risk awareness but were inversely associated with health-promoting lifestyle behaviors (r = -0.37, P lifestyle behaviors (odds ratio, 0.92; 95% confidence interval, 0.88-0.97; P lifestyle behaviors mediated the association between depressive symptoms and QOL. Depressive symptoms contribute significantly to health-promoting lifestyle behaviors and QOL for women. Early detection and treatment of depressive symptoms are important for participation in healthy lifestyle behaviors, which could result in improved QOL.

  16. Healthcare workers' participation in a healthy-lifestyle-promotion project in western Sweden

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Börjesson Mats

    2011-06-01

    supposedly good knowledge of health-related issues, HCWs reporting relatively unfavourable lifestyles are not more motivated to participate. As HCWs are key actors in promoting healthy lifestyles to other groups (such as patients, it is of utmost importance to find strategies to engage this professional group in activities that promote their own health.

  17. A phylo-functional core of gut microbiota in healthy young Chinese cohorts across lifestyles, geography and ethnicities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Jiachao; Guo, Zhuang; Xue, Zhengsheng; Sun, Zhihong; Zhang, Menghui; Wang, Lifeng; Wang, Guoyang; Wang, Fang; Xu, Jie; Cao, Hongfang; Xu, Haiyan; Lv, Qiang; Zhong, Zhi; Chen, Yongfu; Qimuge, Sudu; Menghe, Bilige; Zheng, Yi; Zhao, Liping; Chen, Wei; Zhang, Heping

    2015-09-01

    Structural profiling of healthy human gut microbiota across heterogeneous populations is necessary for benchmarking and characterizing the potential ecosystem services provided by particular gut symbionts for maintaining the health of their hosts. Here we performed a large structural survey of fecal microbiota in 314 healthy young adults, covering 20 rural and urban cohorts from 7 ethnic groups living in 9 provinces throughout China. Canonical analysis of unweighted UniFrac principal coordinates clustered the subjects mainly by their ethnicities/geography and less so by lifestyles. Nine predominant genera, all of which are known to contain short-chain fatty acid producers, co-occurred in all individuals and collectively represented nearly half of the total sequences. Interestingly, species-level compositional profiles within these nine genera still discriminated the subjects according to their ethnicities/geography and lifestyles. Therefore, a phylogenetically diverse core of gut microbiota at the genus level may be commonly shared by distinctive healthy populations as functionally indispensable ecosystem service providers for the hosts.

  18. A Healthy Lifestyle Program for Latino Daughters and Mothers: The BOUNCE Overview and Process Evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olvera, Norma N.; Knox, Brook; Scherer, Rhonda; Maldonado, Gabriela; Sharma, Shreela V.; Alastuey, Lisa; Bush, Jill A.

    2008-01-01

    Background: Few family-based healthy lifestyle programs for Latinos have been conducted, especially family programs targeting mother-daughter dyads. Purpose: To assess the acceptability and feasibility of the Behavior Opportunities Uniting Nutrition Counseling and Exercise (BOUNCE) program designed for Latino mother-daughter pairs. Methods: 92…

  19. The Lifestyle Change Experiences of Cancer Survivors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsay, Shiow-Luan; Ko, Wang-Sheng; Lin, Kuan-Pin

    2017-10-01

    Leading a healthy lifestyle not only alleviates the physical problems but also improves the quality of life of cancer survivors. Healthcare professionals should understand the benefits of altering lifestyle behaviors to provide effective intervention programs to assist cancer survivors to improve their health. The aim of this study was to understand the experiences of cancer survivors in changing their lifestyle after a cancer diagnosis. A qualitative descriptive study was conducted on 13 cancer survivors who were sampled purposively from a regional teaching hospital in central Taiwan. Data were collected using in-depth interviews that were guided by semistructured, open-ended questions and analyzed using content analysis. The analysis of interview data revealed four main themes: motivation of lifestyle change, exploring ways toward a healthy lifestyle, making adjustments in lifestyle, and feeling the benefits of lifestyle changes. In striving for survival, an unwillingness to bear the suffering from treatment and their acceptance of responsibility and gratitude to family members prompted most of the participants to change their lifestyle proactively. They had received inadequate lifestyle guidance and sought health lifestyle information on their own. After a period of research and self-contemplation, most of the participants adopted a consistently healthy lifestyle, changed their dietary consumption habits, abstained from tobacco and alcohol, and managed emotional problems that were caused by the disease. Participants who changed to a healthy lifestyle realized benefits in the physical, emotional, and life domains. It is hoped that these findings help healthcare professionals to better appreciate that a cancer diagnosis is a critical opportunity to link the disease to lifestyle choices in the minds of cancer survivors. Healthcare professionals should ask cancer survivors about their lifestyle and then provide appropriate advice and education on healthy lifestyles

  20. An exploration of beliefs and attitudes regarding healthy lifestyle behaviour in an urban population in The Netherlands: Results from a focus group study in a community-based prevention project

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kloosterboer, Sanne M.; van den Brekel, Karolien; Rengers, Antonia H.; Peek, Niels; de Wit, Niek J.

    2015-01-01

    The positive effects of lifestyle intervention programmes might be enhanced when targeted to the health-related behaviour of the users. This study explores the beliefs and attitudes regarding a healthy lifestyle, the influences on lifestyle behavioural change and the needs to support a healthy

  1. Twelve-Month Effects of the COPE Healthy Lifestyles TEEN Program on Overweight and Depressive Symptoms in High School Adolescents

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    Melnyk, Bernadette M.; Jacobson, Diana; Kelly, Stephanie A.; Belyea, Michael J.; Shaibi, Gabriel Q.; Small, Leigh; O'Haver, Judith A.; Marsiglia, Flavio F.

    2015-01-01

    Background: We evaluated the 12-month effects of the COPE (Creating Opportunities for Personal Empowerment) Healthy Lifestyles TEEN (Thinking, Emotions, Exercise, Nutrition) program versus an attention control program (Healthy Teens) on overweight/obesity and depressive symptoms in high school adolescents. Methods: A cluster randomized controlled…

  2. Identifying effective healthy weight and lifestyle advertisements: Focus groups with Australian adults.

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    Dixon, Helen; Murphy, Michael; Scully, Maree; Rose, Mischa; Cotter, Trish

    2016-08-01

    This study explored adult's attitudes and reactions to a range of television advertisements (ads) promoting healthy weight, physical activity and healthy eating. Twenty-four focus groups (N = 179) were conducted in metropolitan and regional areas of the Australian states of Victoria, New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland, with participants segmented by sex, education (no tertiary, at least some tertiary) and life stage (young adults, parents). Each group was assigned to one of the three advertising streams - Weight, Activity, or Nutrition - where responses to five different ads were explored using semi-structured, moderator-led discussions. Discussion transcripts were qualitatively content analysed using a conventional approach. Four main themes were identified in participants' discussions about the ads' main messages - (i) Why is it a problem? (ii) Who is it a problem for? (iii) What should I do about it? (iv) How do I make the changes? Reactions varied by demographic factors and current weight and lifestyle status. Participants furthest from achieving public health recommendations for weight, diet and activity were motivated by 'what' and 'how' ads involving gentle persuasion and helpful hints. Participants who were closer to meeting these recommendations were motivated by 'why' ads featuring more graphic and emotive content and new information. Findings suggest a strategic approach is important for the development of public health ads promoting healthy weight and lifestyle, with consideration given to the specific communication goals and who the target audience is. This should help ensure an appropriate message is delivered to priority population subgroups in the most informative and motivating manner. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Socioeconomic differences in attitudes and beliefs about healthy lifestyles.

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    Wardle, J; Steptoe, A

    2003-06-01

    s: The factors underlying socioeconomic status differences in smoking, leisure time physical activity, and dietary choice are poorly understood. This study investigated attitudes and beliefs that might underlie behavioural choices, including health locus of control, future salience, subjective life expectancy, and health consciousness, in a nationally representative sample. Data were collected as part of the monthly Omnibus survey of the Office of National Statistics in Britain. A stratified, probability sample of 2728 households was selected by random sampling of addresses. One adult from each household was interviewed. Higher SES respondents were less likely to smoke and more likely to exercise and eat fruit and vegetables daily. Lower SES was associated with less health consciousness (thinking about things to do to keep healthy), stronger beliefs in the influence of chance on health, less thinking about the future, and lower life expectancies. These attitudinal factors were in turn associated with unhealthy behavioural choices, independently of age, sex, and self rated health. Socioeconomic differences in healthy lifestyles are associated with differences in attitudes to health that may themselves arise through variations in life opportunities and exposure to material hardship and ill health over the life course.

  4. Fitness Testing in Physical Education--A Misdirected Effort in Promoting Healthy Lifestyles and Physical Activity?

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    Cale, Lorraine; Harris, Jo

    2009-01-01

    Background: Physical fitness testing is commonplace within schools and the physical education (PE) curriculum, with advocates claiming one of the key purposes of testing to be the promotion of healthy lifestyles and physical activity. Despite this, much controversy has surrounded the fitness testing of young people. Purpose: This paper draws on…

  5. Technology-supported dietary and lifestyle interventions in healthy pregnant women: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Brien, O A; McCarthy, M; Gibney, E R; McAuliffe, F M

    2014-07-01

    Overweight and obesity are associated with increased risk of adverse maternal and fetal outcomes. However, the actuality of delivering effective lifestyle interventions in clinical practice is hampered by a high demand for resources. The use of technology to assist lifestyle interventions needs to be explored as a valid method of reducing strain on resources, and enhancing the effectiveness and population reach of interventions. The aim was to systematically review the literature on the use of technology-supported lifestyle interventions for healthy pregnant women and their impact on maternal outcomes. Online databases and registries were searched in March 2013. Primary outcomes of selected English language studies were fasting maternal glucose, incidence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and maternal gestational weight gain. Secondary outcomes were intervention uptake and acceptance, and dietary or physical activity modification. Studies whose subjects were diagnosed with GDM prior to intervention were excluded. The minimal number of eligible studies and varying outcomes precluded formal meta-analysis of the data. Initially, 203 articles were identified and screened. Seven articles, including five randomised controlled trials, met inclusion criteria for the current review. Results demonstrate several potential benefits associated with technology-supported interventions in pregnancy, despite minimal search results. Although communication technology holds potential as a safe therapeutic tool for the support of lifestyle interventions in pregnancy, there is a paucity of data on its effectiveness. Further RCTs examining the effectiveness of communication technology are required, particularly among those most likely to benefit from lifestyle interventions, such as overweight and obese pregnant women.

  6. Relationship between healthy lifestyle behaviors and cardiovascular risk factors in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a subanalysis of the CCMR-3B STUDY.

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    Huang, Yuxin; Li, Jihu; Zhu, Xiaolin; Sun, Jiao; Ji, Linong; Hu, Dayi; Pan, Changyu; Tan, Wen; Jiang, Suyuan; Tao, Xiaoming

    2017-06-01

    This subanalysis of a cross-sectional, nationwide study was undertaken to assess the relationship between healthy lifestyle behaviors and multiple cardiovascular risk factors among people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Data collected from 25,454 participants, including demographics, lifestyle behaviors and cardiovascular risk profiles, were analyzed. Blood pressure control as well as blood glucose and blood lipid (3Bs) levels were measured as multi-risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Healthy lifestyle behaviors included regular exercise, nonsmoking status and no alcohol consumption. The relationship between the healthy lifestyle behavior(s) and control of 3B(s) was calculated. Of the 25,454 eligible participants, 4171 (16.4%) were current smokers, 2011 (7.9%) currently consumed alcohol, and 11,174 (43.9%) did not exercise. In total, 654 (2.6%) reported all three unhealthy lifestyle behaviors. Most participants (71.1%) had received at least a high school education and were more likely to smoke and drink as compared to those with lower education. Unhealthy lifestyle behaviors were commonly found in participants with low atherosclerosis risk, such as non-elderly people and those with an above-college education level. Unhealthy lifestyle is associated with poor 3B control and worse medication adherence. Unhealthy lifestyles are common in Chinese people with T2DM, especially in people who are non-elderly and above-college educated. Interventions aimed at changing risky lifestyle behaviors are required for improved outcomes for Chinese patients with T2DM.

  7. Relationship between Healthy Lifestyle and Sociodemographic Factors in Adolescents in Catalonia: Application of VISA-TEEN Questionnaire.

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    Lluís Costa-Tutusaus

    Full Text Available There is a clear relationship between the way of life and the health of individuals, and therefore, we can speak of healthy and unhealthy lifestyles. There are different surveys and questionnaires that evaluate the lifestyles of adolescents, but none of them offers a final score that can quantify the healthfulness of an adolescent's lifestyle. It was with this goal that the VISA-TEEN questionnaire is developed and validated. The objective of this study is to apply the questionnaire to a sample of adolescents who attend school in Catalonia to evaluate the healthfulness of their lifestyles and to relate the scores obtained to different sociodemographic variables.Cross-sectional study. A total of 2,832 students from 25 schools in Catalonia responded to the questionnaire. A descriptive analysis was performed, calculating the mean (Standard deviation, median (p25, p75, and confidence interval. The results were calculated for the total population, factoring according to gender, age, urban/rural population, origin (native/immigrant, and family wealth, which was based on the Family Affluence Scale (FAS II. The significance of the difference was calculated for each factor with the appropriate statistical test.For the total score of healthy lifestyle, the youngest students and those with the highest family wealth obtained higher scores. With respect to eating habits, girls scored higher than boys, and higher scores were observed in natives and those with high family wealth. For physical activity, boys scored higher, as well as younger individuals, natives, and those from rural areas. With respect to substance abuse, the worst scores were found in older individuals, students from rural areas, and natives. The rational use of leisure technology was only associated with age (worsening scores with older age. Lastly, hygiene was better with girls, decreased with age, and was worse with natives than immigrants.

  8. Previous experiences and emotional baggage as barriers to lifestyle change - a qualitative study of Norwegian Healthy Life Centre participants.

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    Følling, Ingrid S; Solbjør, Marit; Helvik, Anne-S

    2015-06-23

    Changing lifestyle is challenging and difficult. The Norwegian Directorate of Health recommends that all municipalities establish Healthy Life Centres targeted to people with lifestyle issues. Little is known about the background, experiences and reflections of participants. More information is needed about participants to shape effective lifestyle interventions with lasting effect. This study explores how participants in a lifestyle intervention programme describe previous life experiences in relation to changing lifestyle. Semi-structured qualitative in-depth interviews were performed with 23 participants (16 women and 7 men) aged 18 - 70 years. The data were analysed using systematic text condensation searching for issues describing participants' responses, and looking for the essence, aiming to share the basis of life-world experiences as valid knowledge. Participants identified two main themes: being stuck in old habits, and being burdened with emotional baggage from their previous negative experiences. Participants expressed a wish to change their lifestyles, but were unable to act in accordance with the health knowledge they possessed. Previous experiences with lifestyle change kept them from initiating attempts without professional assistance. Participants also described being burdened by an emotional baggage with problems from childhood and/or with family, work and social life issues. Respondents said that they felt that emotional baggage was an important explanation for why they were stuck in old habits and that conversely, being stuck in old habits added load to their already emotional baggage and made it heavier. Behavioural change can be hard to perform as psychological distress from life baggage can influence the ability to change. The study participants' experience of being stuck in old habits and having substantial emotional baggage raises questions as to whether or not Healthy Life Centres are able to help participants who need to make a lifestyle

  9. Influence of perceived sport competence and body attractiveness on physical activity and other healthy lifestyle habits in adolescents.

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    Moreno-Murcia, Juan Antonio; Hellín, Pedro; González-Cutre, David; Martínez-Galindo, Celestina

    2011-05-01

    The purpose of this study was to test an explanatory model of the relationships between physical self-concept and some healthy habits. A sample of 472 adolescents aged 16 to 20 answered different questionnaires assessing physical self-concept, physical activity, intention to be physically active and consumption of alcohol and tobacco. The results of the structural equation model showed that perceived sport competence positively correlated with current physical activity. Body attractiveness positively correlated with physical activity in boys and negatively in girls. Current physical activity positively correlated with the intention to be physically active in the future and negatively with the consumption of alcohol and tobacco. Nevertheless, this last relationship was only significant in boys. The results are discussed in connection with the promotion of healthy lifestyle guidelines among adolescents. This model shows the importance of physical self-concept for engaging in physical activity in adolescence. It also suggests that physical activity is associated with the intention to continue being physically active and with healthy lifestyle habits.

  10. Healthy lifestyle through young adulthood and the presence of low cardiovascular disease risk profile in middle age: the Coronary Artery Risk Development in (Young) Adults (CARDIA) study.

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    Liu, Kiang; Daviglus, Martha L; Loria, Catherine M; Colangelo, Laura A; Spring, Bonnie; Moller, Arlen C; Lloyd-Jones, Donald M

    2012-02-28

    A low cardiovascular disease risk profile (untreated cholesterol risk profile. We examined whether adopting a healthy lifestyle throughout young adulthood is associated with the presence of the low cardiovascular disease risk profile in middle age. The Coronary Artery Risk Development in (Young) Adults (CARDIA) study sample consisted of 3154 black and white participants 18 to 30 years of age at year 0 (1985-1986) who attended the year 0, 7, and 20 examinations. Healthy lifestyle factors defined at years 0, 7, and 20 included average body mass index risk profile at year 20 were 3.0%, 14.6%, 29.5%, 39.2%, and 60.7% for people with 0 or 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 healthy lifestyle factors, respectively (P for trend risk profile in middle age. Public health and individual efforts are needed to improve the adoption and maintenance of healthy lifestyles in young adults.

  11. Correlates of Healthy Lifestyle Beliefs and Behaviors in Parents of Overweight or Obese Preschool Children Before and After a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Intervention With Text Messaging.

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    Militello, Lisa K; Melnyk, Bernadette Mazurek; Hekler, Eric; Small, Leigh; Jacobson, Diana

    2016-01-01

    Significant gaps exist in the published literature regarding the treatment of overweight/obesity in preschool-aged children, especially in primary care settings. Parental influence plays an important factor in the development of healthy behaviors in children, yet there is no consensus about why some behavior change intervention strategies for parents of young children are more influential and effective than others. The purpose of this secondary data analysis was to assess correlations among the study variables (healthy lifestyle beliefs, perceived difficulty, and healthy lifestyle behaviors) in parents of overweight/obese preschool children. A second aim explored if the parent's level of cognitive beliefs and perceived difficulty of engaging in healthy lifestyle behaviors correlated with text messaging cognitive behavioral support. Fifteen preschool-parent dyads from primary care clinics completed a 7-week cognitive behavioral skills building intervention. Beck's Cognitive Theory guided the intervention content, and Fogg's Behavior Model guided the implementation. The intervention was delivered using a combination of face-to-face clinic visits and ecological momentary interventions using text messaging. Supported are the interconnected relationships among the study variables, that is, parental healthy lifestyle beliefs, thoughts, and behaviors. At baseline, parental healthy lifestyle belief scores significantly correlated with perceived difficulty (rs = 0.598, p behaviors (rs = 0.545, p cognitive behavioral skills building and tailored text messaging, the need for general support via text messaging lessened, warranting additional research. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  12. Audit of healthy lifestyle behaviors among patients with diabetes and hypertension attending ambulatory health care services in the United Arab Emirates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baynouna, Latifa Mohammed; Neglekerke, Nico J D; Ali, Habiba E; ZeinAlDeen, Sana M; Al Ameri, Thuraya A

    2014-12-01

    Knowledge is limited on healthy lifestyle behaviors and their associations with glycemic and blood pressure control among patients with diabetes and hypertension in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). To examine healthy lifestyle behaviors and their associations with glycemic and blood pressure control among patients with hypertension and diabetes, and improvement after the implementation of an intervention in a Chronic Disease Program. All patients with diabetes or hypertension attending seven primary health care centers in Al Ain, UAE during a designated three-week period in July and August 2009. Nurses conducted an audit of patients' adherence to health lifestyle behaviors related to meal planning, smoking, exercise, blood glucose and blood pressure monitoring at home, and foot and eye exams in the Chronic Disease Program clinics after a self-management intervention. A perceived knowledge score and discussion scores (based on the frequency the patients discuss diabetes and hypertension management issues with their providers) were calculated. Data were analyzed using linear regression and odds ratios. Patients reported acceptable rates of adherence to healthy lifestyle behaviors, including a low smoking rate (6% in males), following a meal plan and exercising (88.6% and 78.7%, respectively). Among patients with diabetes, 59% tested their blood glucose levels at least once a week compared to only 15.3% of those with hypertension monitoring their blood pressure levels at home. Only 33% of the participants were following the current physical activity recommendations. Healthy lifestyle behaviors fell into the following clusters: meal planning with exercise (odds ratio (OR): 8.9 [3.3-23.7]), meal planning with foot exams (OR: 10.6 [3.4-32.9]) and exercising and foot exams (OR: 5.2 [1.9-14.2]). This practice-based audit provides an essential assessment for future interventions to improve adherence to healthy life style behaviors among patients with diabetes and

  13. The Motivational Impact of Wearable Healthy Lifestyle Technologies: A Self-Determination Perspective on Fitbits with Adolescents

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    Kerner, Charlotte; Goodyear, Victoria A.

    2017-01-01

    Background: Considerable numbers of young people are not meeting physical activity guidelines. Wearable fitness devices can provide opportunities for physical activity promotion. Purpose: The aim of the study was to explore whether wearable healthy lifestyle technologies impacted on adolescents' (13- to 14-year-olds) motivation for physical…

  14. Yogurt Consumption as a Signature of a Healthy Diet and Lifestyle.

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    Tremblay, Angelo; Panahi, Shirin

    2017-07-01

    Yogurt is considered to be a nutrient-dense food that significantly contributes to the intake of several nutrients, including calcium and protein. As described in this paper, yogurt consumers have a higher nutrient intake than do nonconsumers. Yogurt consumers are also characterized by healthier dietary habits than nonconsumers, which partly explains their reduced incidence of overweight and obesity. Recent studies also suggest that yogurt consumers exhibit healthier nonnutritional behaviors, such as reduced smoking and greater participation in physical activity, than do nonconsumers. Furthermore, when greenhouse gas emissions are used as an additional criterion to categorize foods, yogurt appears to be an eco-friendly food. Compared with that of other foods, the carbon footprint of yogurt production is low to moderate and may be included as part of a healthy and sustainable diet. Based on these factors, yogurt consumption may be the signature of a healthy diet and lifestyle. © 2017 American Society for Nutrition.

  15. Implementation Process and Acceptance of a Setting Based Prevention Programme to Promote Healthy Lifestyle in Preschool Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herbert, Birgit; Strauss, Angelika; Mayer, Andrea; Duvinage, Kristin; Mitschek, Christine; Koletzko, Berthold

    2013-01-01

    Objective: Evaluation of the implementation process of a kindergarten-based intervention ("TigerKids") to promote a healthy lifestyle. Design: Questionnaire survey among kindergarten teachers about programme implementation and acceptance. Setting: Kindergartens in Bavaria, Germany. Methods: Two hundred and fifteen kindergartens were…

  16. A youth-led social marketing intervention to encourage healthy lifestyles, the EYTO (European Youth Tackling Obesity) project: a cluster randomised controlled0 trial in Catalonia, Spain.

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    Llauradó, Elisabet; Aceves-Martins, Magaly; Tarro, Lucia; Papell-Garcia, Ignasi; Puiggròs, Francesc; Arola, Lluís; Prades-Tena, Jordi; Montagut, Marta; Moragas-Fernández, Carlota M; Solà, Rosa; Giralt, Montse

    2015-07-03

    The encouragement of healthy lifestyles for obesity prevention in young people is a public health priority. The European Youth Tackling Obesity (EYTO) project is a multicentric intervention project with participation from the United Kingdom, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Spain. The general aim of the EYTO project is to improve lifestyles, including nutritional habits and physical activity practice, and to prevent obesity in socioeconomically disadvantaged and vulnerable adolescents. The EYTO project works through a peer-led social marketing intervention that is designed and implemented by the adolescents of each participating country. Each country involved in the project acts independently. This paper describes the "Som la Pera" intervention Spanish study that is part of the EYTO project. In Spain, the research team performed a cluster randomised controlled intervention over 2 academic years (2013-2015) in which 2 high-schools were designated as the control group and 2 high-schools were designated as the intervention group, with a minimum of 121 schoolchildren per group. From the intervention group, 5 adolescents with leadership characteristics, called "Adolescent Challenge Creators" (ACCs), were recruited. These 5 ACCs received an initial 4 h training session about social marketing principles and healthy lifestyle theory, followed by 24 sessions (1.30 h/session) divided in two academic years to design and implement activities presented as challenges to encourage healthy lifestyles among their peers, the approximately 180-200 high-school students in the intervention group. During the design of the intervention, it was essential that the ACCs used the 8 social marketing criteria (customer orientation, behaviour, theory, insight, exchange, competition, segmentation and methods mix). The expected primary outcomes from the Spanish intervention will be as follows: increases in the consumption of fruits and vegetables and physical activity practice along with

  17. [Gain for pain: a model of a healthy lifestyle intervention in a population of mentally disabled adults].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bardugo, Esther; Moses, Lilach; Shemmer, Martha; Dubman, Innesa

    2010-10-01

    Mental retardation is an intellectual disability affecting adaptable, conceptual, social and practical skills, with onset prior to 18 years of age. Prevalence of obesity among women with mental retardation is 18-30% greater than that among women without mental retardation. In the Nachman Village, a governmental institution for adults with mental retardation, the main nutritional difficulties result from residents eating snacks in addition to their balanced meals. Psychological complexity and the ambivalent attitude of families, caregivers and residents prevented the achievement of balanced diets and healthy body weights. The women's house mother took upon herself to detect residents with nutritional problems and started an intervention program aiming at promoting a healthy lifestyle and maintenance of normal body weight. The program 'House Queen' was Launched on a voluntary basis. The staff encouraged the residents to engage in physical activity, restrict snack consumption and amounts of food at meals, eat vegetables and not waste pocket money on non-nutritional foods. Each month one or two residents who lost weight while maintaining a healthy lifestyle received a prize and the title "House Queen". The statistical analysis included 22 residents and was conducted retrospectively from data coLlected during a routine medical follow-up. A total of 59.1% of the residents were morbidly obese and 27.3% were obese at the beginning of the program. Seventeen months later, they weighed an average of 8 kg Less, and only 36.4% and 18.2% of them were morbidly obese and obese, respectively. These results suggest a correlation between the 'House Queen' program and Lowering body weight, which encourage the authors to broaden the program to other residents in the Village and combine supportive and restrictive attitudes towards a healthy lifestyle for mentally disabled people.

  18. Achievement of Target Blood Pressure Levels among Japanese Workers with Hypertension and Healthy Lifestyle Characteristics Associated with Therapeutic Failure.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nagako Kudo

    Full Text Available Few studies have examined Japanese with regard to the achievement rates for target blood pressure levels, or the relationship between these rates and healthy lifestyle characteristics in patients with hypertension as defined by the newly established hypertension management guidelines (JSH2014. The aim of this study was to elucidate achievement rates and examine healthy lifestyle characteristics associated with achievement status among Japanese.This cross-sectional study, conducted in January-December 2012, examined blood pressure control and healthy lifestyle characteristics in 8,001 Japanese workers with hypertension (mean age, 57.0 years; 78.8% were men who participated in a workplace health checkup. Data were collected from workplace medical checkup records and participants' self-administered questionnaires. We divided into 5 groups [G1; young, middle-aged, and early-phase elderly patients (65-74 years old without diabetes mellitus or chronic kidney disease (CKD (<140/90 mmHg, G2; late-phase elderly patients (≥75 years old without diabetes mellitus or CKD (<150/90 mmHg, G3; diabetic patients (<130/80 mmHg, G4; patients with CKD (<130/80 mmHg, and G5; patients with cerebrovascular and/or coronary artery diseases (<140/90 mmHg] according to JSH2014. And then, achievement rates were calculated in each group. Multivariate analysis identified healthy lifestyle characteristics associated with "therapeutic failure" of target blood pressure.Target blood pressures were achieved by 60.2% of young, middle-aged, and early-phase elderly patients (G1, 71.4% of late-phase elderly patients (G2, 30.5% of diabetic patients (G3, 33.4% of those with chronic kidney disease (G4, and 66.0% of those with cerebrovascular and/or coronary artery diseases (G5. A body mass index of 18.5-24.9 and non-daily alcohol consumption were protective factors, and adequate sleep was found to contribute to therapeutic success.We found low achievement rates for treatment goals

  19. Influence of Health Education and Healthy Lifestyle on Students' Academic Achievement in Biology in Nigeria

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    Babatunde, Ezekiel Olusegun

    2017-01-01

    The positive effects of health education and healthy lifestyle on adolescent academic achievement cannot be over emphasized as learning experiences to help students accurately assess the level of risk-taking behaviour among their peers, emphasis on the value of good health that reinforces health-enhancing attitudes and beliefs are paramount.…

  20. A Healthy Lifestyle Intervention Delivered by Aspiring Physical Education Teachers to Children from Social Disadvantage: Study Protocol and Preliminary Findings

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    Breslin, Gavin; Brennan, Deirdre

    2012-01-01

    We describe the design of a school-based healthy lifestyle intervention for eight-year-old to nine-year-old school children from lower socio-economic backgrounds, intended to increase physical activity, decrease sedentary behaviours, reduce screen-time behaviours, encourage healthy attitudes and behaviours to nutrition, and reduce body mass index.…

  1. Exploring the Role of Genetic Variability and Lifestyle in Oxidative Stress Response for Healthy Aging and Longevity

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    Giuseppe Passarino

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Oxidative stress is both the cause and consequence of impaired functional homeostasis characterizing human aging. The worsening efficiency of stress response with age represents a health risk and leads to the onset and accrual of major age-related diseases. In contrast, centenarians seem to have evolved conservative stress response mechanisms, probably derived from a combination of a diet rich in natural antioxidants, an active lifestyle and a favorable genetic background, particularly rich in genetic variants able to counteract the stress overload at the level of both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA. The integration of these factors could allow centenarians to maintain moderate levels of free radicals that exert beneficial signaling and modulator effects on cellular metabolism. Considering the hot debate on the efficacy of antioxidant supplementation in promoting healthy aging, in this review we gathered the existing information regarding genetic variability and lifestyle factors which potentially modulate the stress response at old age. Evidence reported here suggests that the integration of lifestyle factors (moderate physical activity and healthy nutrition and genetic background could shift the balance in favor of the antioxidant cellular machinery by activating appropriate defense mechanisms in response to exceeding external and internal stress levels, and thus possibly achieving the prospect of living a longer life.

  2. Lifestyle index and work ability.

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    Kaleta, Dorota; Makowiec-Dabrowska, Teresa; Jegier, Anna

    2006-01-01

    In many countries around the world, negative changes in lifestyles are observed. The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of selected lifestyle indicators on work ability among professionally active individuals. The study was performed in the randomly selected group of full-time employees (94 men and 93 women) living in the city of Lódź. Work ability was measured with the work ability index and lifestyle characteristic was assessed with the healthy lifestyle index. We analyzed four lifestyle indicators: non-smoking, healthy weight, fiber intake per day, and regular physical activity. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals to control the effects of lifestyle and work ability. The analysis of lifestyle index indicated that 27.7, 30.9, 27.7 and 11.7% of men and 15.1, 21.5, 35.5 and 26.9% of women scored 0, 1, 2, 3 points, respectively. Only 2.1% of men and 1.1% of women met the criteria for the healthy lifestyle (score 4). Work ability was excellent, good and moderate in 38.3, 46.8 and 14.9% of men, and in 39.8, 14.9 and 19.3% of women, respectively. Poor work ability was found in 9.7% women. Work ability was strongly associated with lifestyle in both men and women. Among men with index score = 0, the risk of moderate work ability was nearly seven times higher than in men whose lifestyle index score exceeded 1 or more points (OR = 6.67; 95% CI: 1.94-22.90). Among women with lifestyle index score = 0, the risk of moderate or lower work ability was also highly elevated as compared to those with lifestyle index = 1 or higher (OR = 14.44; 95% CI: 3.53-59.04). Prophylactic schedules associated with the improvement of lifestyles should be addressed to all adults. Future programs aimed at increasing work ability should consider work- and lifestyle-related factors.

  3. Giving offspring a healthy start: parents' experiences of health promotion and lifestyle change during pregnancy and early parenthood

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edvardsson Kristina

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background There are good opportunities in Sweden for health promotion targeting expectant parents and parents of young children, as almost all are reached by antenatal and child health care. In 2005, a multisectoral child health promotion programme (the Salut Programme was launched to further strengthen such efforts. Methods Between June and December 2010 twenty-four in-depth interviews were conducted separately with first-time mothers and fathers when their child had reached 18 months of age. The aim was to explore their experiences of health promotion and lifestyle change during pregnancy and early parenthood. Qualitative manifest and latent content analysis was applied. Results Parents reported undertaking lifestyle changes to secure the health of the fetus during pregnancy, and in early parenthood to create a health-promoting environment for the child. Both women and men portrayed themselves as highly receptive to health messages regarding the effect of their lifestyle on fetal health, and they frequently mentioned risks related to tobacco and alcohol, as well as toxins and infectious agents in specific foods. However, health promotion strategies in pregnancy and early parenthood did not seem to influence parents to make lifestyle change primarily to promote their own health; a healthy lifestyle was simply perceived as 'common knowledge'. Although trust in health care was generally high, both women and men described some resistance to what they saw as preaching, or very directive counselling about healthy living and the lack of a holistic approach from health care providers. They also reported insufficient engagement with fathers in antenatal care and child health care. Conclusion Perceptions about risks to the offspring's health appear to be the primary driving force for lifestyle change during pregnancy and early parenthood. However, as parents' motivation to prioritise their own health per se seems to be low during this period

  4. Feasibility and acceptability of a midwife-led intervention programme called 'Eat Well Keep Active' to encourage a healthy lifestyle in pregnancy

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    Warren Lucie

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Eating a diet that is high in fat and sugar and having a sedentary lifestyle during pregnancy is understood to increase the risk of excessive gestational weight gain and obesity following the birth of the baby. However, there are no clinical guidelines in the UK on what is considered to be appropriate gestational weight gain. Indeed, clinical recommendations discourage the routine re-weighing of pregnant women, stating instead that women should be advised regarding their diet and activity levels, in order to prevent excessive weight gain. Pregnancy is seen as a time when many women may have an increased motivation to improve their lifestyle behaviours for the benefit of the fetus. However, it is evident that many women have difficulty in both maintaining a healthy balanced diet and remaining active through pregnancy. It would seem that midwives may be ideally placed to assist women to make and maintain healthier lifestyle choices during pregnancy. Methods/design This study will look at the feasibility and acceptability of a newly devised intervention programme called 'Eat Well Keep Active'. Participants will complete a questionnaire prior to the programme to obtain baseline data on food frequency, physical activity and to gauge their perception of personal ability to improve/maintain healthy lifestyle. The programme comprises client centred techniques; motivational interviewing and goal setting delivered early in pregnancy (12-16 weeks with the aim of supporting a healthy well balanced diet and either continuing or commencing appropriate levels of physical activity. Participants will then be followed up six weeks following the intervention with a one-to-one interview, and a further brief questionnaire. The interview will provide preliminary data regarding perceived effectiveness and acceptability of the 'Eat Well Keep Active' programme whilst the questionnaire will provide data regarding changes in the confidence of

  5. Feasibility and acceptability of a midwife-led intervention programme called 'Eat Well Keep Active' to encourage a healthy lifestyle in pregnancy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warren, Lucie; Rance, Jaynie; Hunter, Billie

    2012-04-11

    Eating a diet that is high in fat and sugar and having a sedentary lifestyle during pregnancy is understood to increase the risk of excessive gestational weight gain and obesity following the birth of the baby. However, there are no clinical guidelines in the UK on what is considered to be appropriate gestational weight gain. Indeed, clinical recommendations discourage the routine re-weighing of pregnant women, stating instead that women should be advised regarding their diet and activity levels, in order to prevent excessive weight gain. Pregnancy is seen as a time when many women may have an increased motivation to improve their lifestyle behaviours for the benefit of the fetus. However, it is evident that many women have difficulty in both maintaining a healthy balanced diet and remaining active through pregnancy. It would seem that midwives may be ideally placed to assist women to make and maintain healthier lifestyle choices during pregnancy. This study will look at the feasibility and acceptability of a newly devised intervention programme called 'Eat Well Keep Active'. Participants will complete a questionnaire prior to the programme to obtain baseline data on food frequency, physical activity and to gauge their perception of personal ability to improve/maintain healthy lifestyle. The programme comprises client centred techniques; motivational interviewing and goal setting delivered early in pregnancy (12-16 weeks) with the aim of supporting a healthy well balanced diet and either continuing or commencing appropriate levels of physical activity. Participants will then be followed up six weeks following the intervention with a one-to-one interview, and a further brief questionnaire. The interview will provide preliminary data regarding perceived effectiveness and acceptability of the 'Eat Well Keep Active' programme whilst the questionnaire will provide data regarding changes in the confidence of participants to lead a healthy lifestyle. There is an

  6. Behavioral Disinhibition Can Foster Intentions to Healthy Lifestyle Change by Overcoming Commitment to Past Behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fennis, Bob M; Andreassen, Tor W; Lervik-Olsen, Line

    2015-01-01

    To curb the trend towards obesity and unhealthy living, people may need to change their entire lifestyle to a healthier alternative, something that is frequently perceived to be problematic. The present research, using a large, representative community sample, hypothesized and found that a key factor responsible for why people do not intend to change lifestyles is a sense of commitment to past behavior. However we also found that the contribution of commitment was attenuated for individuals with a stronger tendency for behavioral disinhibition thus underscoring the "bright side" of this individual difference characteristic that traditionally has been mainly associated with impulsive and indulging behavior. Overall, the present findings add to our understanding of factors inhibiting and promoting healthy behavior change.

  7. Awareness, knowledge, healthy lifestyle behaviors, and their correlates to coronary heart disease among working women in Singapore.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramachandran, Hadassah Joann; Wu, Vivien Xi; He, Hong-Gu; Jiang, Ying; Wang, Wenru

    2016-01-01

    The objectives of the study were to investigate awareness, knowledge, healthy lifestyle behaviors, and their correlates to coronary heart disease (CHD) among working women in Singapore. CHD is the leading cause of death for women globally, yet women are unaware of this or the associated risk factors that make them vulnerable to CHD. A cross-sectional descriptive study with a quota sample of 200 working women was conducted in Singapore. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires, including the Heart Disease Fact Questionnaire-2, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, and a section on Awareness of CHD. Participants demonstrated suboptimal awareness of CHD being the leading cause of death among women and the risk factors associated with morbidity. Healthy lifestyle behaviors were found to be affected by age, ethnicity, marital status, income status, presence of chronic diseases, and working groups. Health care providers should systematically evaluate women at risk for CHD and provide both gender-sensitive and age-specific education. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Gender differences in health habits and in motivation for a healthy lifestyle among Swedish university students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    von Bothmer, Margareta I K; Fridlund, Bengt

    2005-06-01

    The aim of the present study was to investigate gender differences in students' health habits and motivation for a healthy lifestyle. The sample of students comprised a probability systematic stratified sample from each department at a small university in the south-west of Sweden (n = 479). A questionnaire created for this study was used for data collection. Self-rated health was measured by number of health complaints, where good health was defined as having less than three health complaints during the last month. A healthy lifestyle index was computed on habits related to smoking, alcohol consumption, food habits, physical activity and stress. Female students had healthier habits related to alcohol consumption and nutrition but were more stressed. Male students showed a high level of overweight and obesity and were less interested in nutrition advice and health enhancing activities. The gender differences are discussed in relation to the impact of stress on female students' health, and the risk for male students in having unhealthy nutritional habits in combination with being physically inactive and drinking too much alcohol.

  9. Development of a training programme for home health care workers to promote preventive activities focused on a healthy lifestyle : an intervention mapping approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Walters, Maaike E.; Dijkstra, Arie; de Winter, Andrea F.; Reijneveld, Sijmen A.

    2015-01-01

    Background: Lifestyle is an important aspect in maintaining good health in older adults, and home health care (HHC) workers can play an important role in promoting a healthy lifestyle. However, there is limited evidence in the literature regarding how to develop an effective training programme to

  10. Modelling innovative interventions for optimising healthy lifestyle promotion in primary health care: "Prescribe Vida Saludable" phase I research protocol

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pombo Haizea

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The adoption of a healthy lifestyle, including physical activity, a balanced diet, a moderate alcohol consumption and abstinence from smoking, are associated with large decreases in the incidence and mortality rates for the most common chronic diseases. That is why primary health care (PHC services are trying, so far with less success than desirable, to promote healthy lifestyles among patients. The objective of this study is to design and model, under a participative collaboration framework between clinicians and researchers, interventions that are feasible and sustainable for the promotion of healthy lifestyles in PHC. Methods and design Phase I formative research and a quasi-experimental evaluation of the modelling and planning process will be undertaken in eight primary care centres (PCCs of the Basque Health Service – OSAKIDETZA, of which four centres will be assigned for convenience to the Intervention Group (the others being Controls. Twelve structured study, discussion and consensus sessions supported by reviews of the literature and relevant documents, will be undertaken throughout 12 months. The first four sessions, including a descriptive strategic needs assessment, will lead to the prioritisation of a health promotion aim in each centre. In the remaining eight sessions, collaborative design of intervention strategies, on the basis of a planning process and pilot trials, will be carried out. The impact of the formative process on the practice of healthy lifestyle promotion, attitude towards health promotion and other factors associated with the optimisation of preventive clinical practice will be assessed, through pre- and post-programme evaluations and comparisons of the indicators measured in professionals from the centres assigned to the Intervention or Control Groups. Discussion There are four necessary factors for the outcome to be successful and result in important changes: (1 the commitment of professional

  11. Effects of Occupational Health and Safety on Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors of Workers Employed in a Private Company in Turkey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ulutasdemir, Nilgun; Kilic, Meryem; Zeki, Özge; Begendi, Fatma

    2015-01-01

    It has been suggested that inappropriate working conditions and unsafe environments at construction sites, longer working hours, and inadequate workplaces adversely affect the health behaviors of workers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of occupational health and safety (OHS) practices on healthy lifestyle behaviors of workers employed at a construction site of a private company in Gaziantep, Turkey. The sampling size of this descriptive study consisted of 400 employees working at the construction site between December 2014 and January 2015. In all, 341 employees still working or participating in the study during the period of this questionnaire study were included in the sampling. Data from the survey were derived from responses to questions regarding sociodemographic characteristics, OHS applications, health state, and working conditions, as well as to the questions in on the Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Scale (HLBS), under direct surveillance. Male workers with a mean age of 30.61 ± 8.68 years constituted the study population. Of the workers, 41.9% had a primary school education. The majority received professional and OHS training (65.7% and 79.2%, respectively). Although 83.9% reported using personal protective equipment (PPE), only 2.1% said they had experienced an occupational accident. Total mean score of HLBS scale was 116.91 ± 25.62 points. Workers who had positive thoughts about their jobs demonstrated healthy lifestyle behaviors (P = .0001). A positive direct correlation was detected between the training the workers received and the use of PPE (P = .0001). In all, 38.1% of the workers reported experiencing work stress at the time of the study. Mean HLBS scores of those experiencing work stress were lower than the scores for workers not experiencing stress (P < .05). Receiving OHS and professional training and using of PPE favorably affect healthy lifestyle behaviors. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights

  12. HEALTHY LIFESTYLE AS A BASIS FOR EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT THE ENTERPRISE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anastasia Sozinova

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The article analyzes the possibility of connecting a healthy lifestyle with workday. It shows that the presence of health management in the company has a positive effect on efficiency of employees of the company and is an important part of corporate culture.Due to the fact that human capital is the most complex in the reproduction, as well as taking into account the undeniable fact enhance the competitiveness of the enterprise as a whole when the impact on staff of the company, we believe the theme selected articles particularly relevant . In the difficult period of economic crisis, the proposed impact on development and human resource management can be taken that management of any company in order to increase the competitiveness of the entire business structure.

  13. Medication overuse, healthy lifestyle behaviour and stress in chronic headache

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Westergaard, Maria Lurenda; Glümer, Charlotte; Hansen, Ebba Holme

    2016-01-01

    AIM: This cross-sectional study investigated associations between chronic headache (CH) with and without medication overuse, healthy lifestyle behaviour, and stress. METHODS: Questionnaires were sent to 129,150 adults. Those with headache ≥15 days per month for three months were classified...... as having CH then further described as having medication-overuse headache (MOH) or CH without medication overuse. Associations between headache and daily smoking, physical inactivity, obesity, excessive drinking, illicit drug use, and high stress were analysed by logistic regression. RESULTS: CH...... with and without medication overuse (prevalence 1.8% and 1.6%, respectively) had strong, graded associations with stress. Associations with daily smoking, physical inactivity, and obesity were significant only for MOH. Odds for MOH were highest among people who had all three factors compared to those who had none...

  14. High cardiometabolic risk in healthy Chilean adolescents: associations with anthropometric, biological and lifestyle factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burrows, Raquel; Correa-Burrows, Paulina; Reyes, Marcela; Blanco, Estela; Albala, Cecilia; Gahagan, Sheila

    2016-02-01

    To analyse the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in healthy adolescents of low to middle socio-economic status and to study the influence of anthropometric, biological and lifestyle factors on the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS). Cross-sectional study. BMI, waist circumference, blood pressure, fat and lean mass (by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry), TAG, HDL-cholesterol, glucose, insulin, homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR), food intake and physical activity were measured. Cardiovascular risk factors were defined using the International Diabetes Federation criteria and insulin resistance using HOMA-IR ≥2.6. Bivariate and multivariate regressions examined the associations between MetS and anthropometric, biological and lifestyle factors. Observational cohort study including Chilean adolescents, who were part of a follow-up study beginning in infancy. Adolescents aged 16-17 years (n 667). In the sample, 16.2% had obesity and 9.5% had MetS. Low HDL-cholesterol (69.9%), abdominal obesity (33.3%) and fasting hyperglycaemia (8.7%) were the most prevalent cardiovascular risk factors. In males, obesity (OR=3.7; 95% CI 1.2, 10.8), insulin resistance (OR=3.0; 95% CI 1.1, 8.2), physical inactivity (OR=2.9; 95% CI 1.1, 7.7) and sarcopenia (OR=21.2; 95% CI 4.2, 107.5) significantly increased the risk of MetS. In females, insulin resistance (OR=4.9; 95% CI 1.9, 12.6) and sarcopenia (OR=3.6; 95% CI 1.1, 11.9) were significantly associated with MetS. High prevalences of obesity, abdominal obesity, dyslipidaemia, fasting hyperglycaemia and MetS were found in healthy adolescents. In both sexes, sarcopenia and insulin resistance were important risk factors of MetS. Promotion of active lifestyles at the school level and regulation of the sale of energy-dense foods are needed.

  15. The Downstart Program: a hospital-based pediatric healthy lifestyle program for obese and morbidly obese minority youth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sternberg, Alex; Muzumdar, Hiren; Dinkevich, Eugene; Quintos, Jose Bernardo; Austin-Leon, Galia; Owens, Terrel; Murphy, Cheryl; Dapul, Geraldine; Rao, Madu

    2006-12-01

    Although obesity affects all cultures, ethnic groups and social strata, this disorder affects African Americans, Hispanics and the poor at a disproportionate rate. The Downstart Pediatric Healthy Lifestyle Program was developed to provide a multi-disciplinary behavioral modification program for inner city families in Brooklyn, New York interested in leading a healthier, more active lifestyle. The Downstart Program uses a four-pronged approach of medical evaluation, exercise, nutritional education and lifestyle modification. A psychological evaluation is performed to determine the individual's ability and readiness to participate in group activities. Baseline physical fitness, flexibility and muscle strength are measured, followed by a twice-weekly karate/martial arts/dance program, incorporating principles established by the President's Council on Exercise. Nutritional and behavioral modification aspects of the program consist of weekly education about food groups, portion control, goal setting and appropriate rewards for attaining goals. Our preliminary results indicate that the Downstart Program may be a viable intervention for weight loss. Further study is needed to improve strategies for motivating patients and means and criteria for assessing long-term effects on health and lifestyle.

  16. A Web-Based Lifestyle Medicine Curriculum: Facilitating Education About Lifestyle Medicine, Behavioral Change, and Health Care Outcomes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Ryan C; Sannidhi, Deepa; McBride, Yasamina; McCargo, Tracie; Stern, Theodore A

    2017-01-01

    Background Lifestyle medicine is the science and application of healthy lifestyles as interventions for the prevention and treatment of disease, and has gained significant momentum as a specialty in recent years. College is a critical time for maintenance and acquisition of healthy habits. Longer-term, more intensive web-based and in-person lifestyle medicine interventions can have a positive effect. Students who are exposed to components of lifestyle medicine in their education have improvements in their health behaviors. A semester-long undergraduate course focused on lifestyle medicine can be a useful intervention to help adopt and sustain healthy habits. Objective To describe a novel, evidence based curriculum for a course teaching the concepts of Lifestyle Medicine based on a web-based course offered at the Harvard Extension School. Methods The course was delivered in a web-based format. The Lifestyle Medicine course used evidence based principles to guide students toward a “coach approach” to behavior change, increasing their self-efficacy regarding various lifestyle-related preventive behaviors. Students are made to understand the cultural trends and national guidelines that have shaped lifestyle medicine recommendations relating to behaviors. They are encouraged to engage in behavior change. Course topics include physical activity, nutrition, addiction, sleep, stress, and lifestyle coaching and counseling. The course addressed all of the American College of Preventive Medicine/American College of Lifestyle Medicine competencies save for the competency of office systems and technologies to support lifestyle medicine counseling. Results The course was well-received, earning a ranking of 4.9/5 at the school. Conclusions A novel, semester-long course on Lifestyle Medicine at the Harvard Extension School is described. Student evaluations suggest the course was well-received. Further research is needed to evaluate whether such a course empowers students to

  17. An Examination of the Association of Social Media Use with the Satisfaction with Daily Routines and Healthy Lifestyle Habits for Undergraduate and Graduate Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melanie Austin-McCain

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Background: Social media use has become an integral daily occupation of college and graduate students. In the United States, 90% of adults aged 18 to 29 years use social media (Pew Internet, 2015. Positive and negative data has been found which examined associations between social media use and other daily occupations (activities that impact emotional and physical health. The purpose of this study is to examine the association of social media use with the satisfaction of daily routines and healthy lifestyle habits for undergraduate and graduate students. Method: Undergraduate and graduate students responded to survey questions regarding their social media use, healthy lifestyle habits, and satisfaction with daily routines. Results: Findings revealed that social media use is substantially related to certain healthy lifestyle habits, such as relaxation, leisure, and social participation activities, as well as satisfaction with daily routine. No significant association was found between other healthy habits, such as fitness and healthy eating. Discussion: Undergraduate and graduate students are part of society’s population at risk for poor health (CDC, 2016. Social media use as part of students’ daily routines may not be harmful and can inform interdisciplinary practitioners and educators with essential information and strategies to promote overall health and well-being.

  18. Development, acceptability and efficacy of a standardized healthy lifestyle intervention in recurrent depression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goracci, A; Rucci, P; Forgione, R N; Campinoti, G; Valdagno, M; Casolaro, I; Carretta, E; Bolognesi, S; Fagiolini, A

    2016-05-15

    Research evidence on the effects of integrated multifaceted lifestyle interventions for depression is scanty. The aim of the present study is to report on the development, acceptability and efficacy of a standardized healthy lifestyle intervention, including exercise, eating habits, sleep hygiene and smoking cessation in preventing relapses. One hundred-sixty outpatients with recurrent unipolar depression or bipolar disorder were recruited after achieving full remission or recovery from the most recent depressive episode. Patients were randomized to 3-months of usual care or to an intervention aimed at promoting a healthy lifestyle (HLI), as an augmentation of pharmacological maintenance treatment. Usual care consisted of clinical management visits. At the end of the intervention, follow-up visits were scheduled at 3,6,9 and 12 months. During the intervention phase, 1 relapse occurred in the HLI group and 4 in the control group. Over the 12 months of follow-up, relapses were 5 in the HLI group and 16 in control group. Using an intent-to-treat approach, the overall percentage of relapses was 6/81 (7.4%) in the HLI group vs. 20/79 (25.3%) in the control group.. In a Kaplan-Meier survival analysis the risk of relapse was significantly lower in patients receiving the HLI intervention (log-rank test, p=0.003) over the 60 weeks of observation. The majority of patients assigned to HLI adhered to the program, and were highly motivated throughout the intervention. The retention rate was low because patients were recruited during the maintenance phase and the 1-year follow-up was relatively short to detect a long-term effect of HLI. The HLI program proved to be efficacious in preventing relapses. Given the absence of contraindications and its cost-effectiveness in routine practice, the use of HLI should be encouraged to promote the well-being of patients with recurrent depression. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Medication overuse, healthy lifestyle behaviour and stress in chronic headache: Results from a population-based representative survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Westergaard, Maria Lurenda; Glümer, Charlotte; Hansen, Ebba Holme; Jensen, Rigmor Højland

    2016-01-01

    This cross-sectional study investigated associations between chronic headache (CH) with and without medication overuse, healthy lifestyle behaviour, and stress. Questionnaires were sent to 129,150 adults. Those with headache ≥15 days per month for three months were classified as having CH then further described as having medication-overuse headache (MOH) or CH without medication overuse. Associations between headache and daily smoking, physical inactivity, obesity, excessive drinking, illicit drug use, and high stress were analysed by logistic regression. CH with and without medication overuse (prevalence 1.8% and 1.6%, respectively) had strong, graded associations with stress. Associations with daily smoking, physical inactivity, and obesity were significant only for MOH. Odds for MOH were highest among people who had all three factors compared to those who had none (OR 2.8 in women and 5.1 in men). High stress plus any of these three factors had synergistic effects in MOH but not clearly in those who had CH without overuse. Associations between CH subtypes and excessive drinking or illicit drug use were not statistically significant. Results suggest strong links between healthy lifestyle behaviour and stress in MOH. Stress reduction and promoting healthy behaviour are highly relevant in MOH management. © International Headache Society 2015.

  20. Nutritional knowledge in European adolescents : results from the HELENA (Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence) study

    OpenAIRE

    Hallström, Lena; Sichert-Hellert, Wolfgang; Beghin, Laurent; De Henauw, Stefaan; GRAMMATIKAKI, Eva; Manios, Yannis; Mesana, Maribella; Molnar, Dénes; Dietrich, Sabina; PICCINELLI, Raffaela; Plada, Maria; Sjöström, Michael; Moreno, Luis; Kersting, Mathilde

    2011-01-01

    Objective: To build up sufficient knowledge of a ‘healthy diet’. Here, we report on the assessment of nutritional knowledge using a uniform method in a large sample of adolescents across Europe. Design: A cross-sectional study. Setting: The European multicentre HELENA (Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence) study conducted in 2006–2007 in ten cities in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece (one inland and one island city), Hungary, Italy, Spain and Sweden. Subjects: A to...

  1. Is participatory design associated with the effectiveness of serious digital games for healthy lifestyle promotion? A meta-analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Serious digital games can be effective at changing healthy lifestyles, but large differences in their effectiveness exist. The extent of user involvement in game design may contribute to game effectiveness by creating a better fit with user preferences. Participatory design (PD), which represents ac...

  2. Heath beliefs of UK South Asians related to lifestyle diseases: a review of qualitative literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lucas, Anna; Murray, Esther; Kinra, Sanjay

    2013-01-01

    To review available qualitative evidence in the literature for health beliefs and perceptions specific to UK South Asian adults. Exploring available insight into the social and cultural constructs underlying perceptions related to health behaviours and lifestyle-related disease. A search of central databases and ethnic minority research groups was augmented by hand-searching of reference lists. For included studies, quality was assessed using a predetermined checklist followed by metaethnography to synthesise the findings, using both reciprocal translation and line-of-argument synthesis to look at factors impacting uptake of health behaviours. A total of 10 papers varying in design and of good quality were included in the review. Cultural and social norms strongly influenced physical activity incidence and motivation as well as the ability to engage in healthy eating practices. These qualitative studies provide insight into approaches to health among UK South Asians in view of their social and cultural norms. Acknowledgement of their approach to lifestyle behaviours may assist acceptability of interventions and delivery of lifestyle advice by health professionals.

  3. Heath Beliefs of UK South Asians Related to Lifestyle Diseases: A Review of Qualitative Literature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Lucas

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective. To review available qualitative evidence in the literature for health beliefs and perceptions specific to UK South Asian adults. Exploring available insight into the social and cultural constructs underlying perceptions related to health behaviours and lifestyle-related disease. Methods. A search of central databases and ethnic minority research groups was augmented by hand-searching of reference lists. For included studies, quality was assessed using a predetermined checklist followed by metaethnography to synthesise the findings, using both reciprocal translation and line-of-argument synthesis to look at factors impacting uptake of health behaviours. Results. A total of 10 papers varying in design and of good quality were included in the review. Cultural and social norms strongly influenced physical activity incidence and motivation as well as the ability to engage in healthy eating practices. Conclusions. These qualitative studies provide insight into approaches to health among UK South Asians in view of their social and cultural norms. Acknowledgement of their approach to lifestyle behaviours may assist acceptability of interventions and delivery of lifestyle advice by health professionals.

  4. A "healthy diet-optimal sleep" lifestyle pattern is inversely associated with liver stiffness and insulin resistance in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katsagoni, Christina N; Papatheodoridis, George V; Papageorgiou, Maria-Vasiliki; Ioannidou, Panagiota; Deutsch, Melanie; Alexopoulou, Alexandra; Papadopoulos, Nikolaos; Fragopoulou, Elisabeth; Kontogianni, Meropi D

    2017-03-01

    Several lifestyle habits have been described as risk factors for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Given that both healthy and unhealthy habits tend to cluster, the aim of this study was to identify lifestyle patterns and explore their potential associations with clinical characteristics of individuals with NAFLD. One hundred and thirty-six consecutive patients with ultrasound-proven NAFLD were included. Diet and physical activity level were assessed through appropriate questionnaires. Habitual night sleep hours and duration of midday naps were recorded. Optimal sleep duration was defined as sleep hours ≥ 7 and ≤ 9 h/day. Lifestyle patterns were identified using principal component analysis. Eight components were derived explaining 67% of total variation of lifestyle characteristics. Lifestyle pattern 3, namely high consumption of low-fat dairy products, vegetables, fish, and optimal sleep duration was negatively associated with insulin resistance (β = -1.66, P = 0.008) and liver stiffness (β = -1.62, P = 0.05) after controlling for age, sex, body mass index, energy intake, smoking habits, adiponectin, and tumor necrosis factor-α. Lifestyle pattern 1, namely high consumption of full-fat dairy products, refined cereals, potatoes, red meat, and high television viewing time was positively associated with insulin resistance (β = 1.66, P = 0.005), although this association was weakened after adjusting for adiponectin and tumor necrosis factor-α. A "healthy diet-optimal sleep" lifestyle pattern was beneficially associated with insulin resistance and liver stiffness in NAFLD patients independent of body weight status and energy intake.

  5. Relationship between attitudes towards healthy eating and dietary behaviour, lifestyle and demographic factors in a representative sample of Irish adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hearty, A P; McCarthy, S N; Kearney, J M; Gibney, M J

    2007-01-01

    Attitudes towards healthy eating were explored according to dietary, lifestyle and socio-demographic correlates in a random sample of 1256 Irish adults. Data were obtained from an Irish cross-sectional survey (1997-1999). A self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain attitudinal information. Food consumption was estimated using a 7-d food diary. A majority of the sample had a positive attitude or motivation towards their healthy eating behaviour. Those who perceived their own eating habits to be healthy were more likely to comply with current dietary guidelines than those who did not. Females, increasing age, higher social class, tertiary education, non-smokers, lower body-weights and increased recreational activity were associated with a lower odds ratio (OR) for having a negative attitude towards their healthy eating behaviour. An increased intake (g/d) of breakfast cereals, vegetables, fruit and poultry dishes were associated with decreased OR for negative attitudes towards their healthy eating behaviour, while an increased intake of high-calorie beverages (g/d) was associated with an increased OR. It can be concluded that attitudes or motivation towards eating healthily was related to measured dietary and lifestyle behaviour in this sample. Future research is warranted to devise appropriate methods of instituting attitude change towards dietary behaviour in certain subgroups of the population.

  6. Formation of healthy lifestyle among schoolchildren with overweight and obesity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O.L. Palladina

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available The problem of overweight and obesity in school children is considered. It is shown that the problem of child obesity underlie the development of many serious medical illness. It is introduced the analysis of publications on the problem of overweight and obesity in schoolchildren. It is defined methods for detection and possible non-pharmacological correction of the condition. The necessity of creating and putting into practice of long-term training programs to promote healthy lifestyle among schoolchildren are overweight or obese, to prevent the development of cardiovascular disease and other metabolic complications. Conceptually, it is determined the main directions of teaching and physical education students who are overweight and obese. It is shown that it is advisable to inform children and parents about the need to combine a balanced diet with exercise stress.

  7. An exploration of beliefs and attitudes regarding healthy lifestyle behaviour in an urban population in The Netherlands: Results from a focus group study in a community-based prevention project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kloosterboer, Sanne M; van den Brekel, Karolien; Rengers, Antonia H; Peek, Niels; de Wit, Niek J

    2015-06-01

    The positive effects of lifestyle intervention programmes might be enhanced when targeted to the health-related behaviour of the users. This study explores the beliefs and attitudes regarding a healthy lifestyle, the influences on lifestyle behavioural change and the needs to support a healthy lifestyle in the local community, during an integrated community-based prevention project in newly developed urban area in the Netherlands. Three focus groups were conducted with urban residents aged 45-70 (n = 28). Thematic qualitative analysis was applied to verbatim transcripts to identify emerging themes. The following themes were identified: beliefs to healthy behaviour, responsibility for health, perceived behavioural control, external influences on behavioural change and needs in the local community. Within these themes, personal responsibility for health and the influence of the social and physical environment emerged to be important for health and lifestyle. The participants expressed the need for clearly organized health and lifestyle facilities, a personalized approach and an easily accessible health risk assessment to support lifestyle behavioural change in the community. In our study, urban residents experienced a strong influence of the social and physical environment to their lifestyle behaviour. This finding supports an integrated approach for preventive health services in this population. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

  8. Adherence to the healthy Nordic food index, dietary composition, and lifestyle among Swedish women

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roswall, Nina; Eriksson, Ulf; Sandin, Sven; Löf, Marie; Olsen, Anja; Skeie, Guri; Adami, Hans-Olov; Weiderpass, Elisabete

    2015-01-01

    Background Studies examining diet scores in relation to health outcomes are gaining ground. Thus, control for dietary factors not part of the score, and lifestyle associated with adherence, is required to allow for a causal interpretation of studies on diet scores and health outcomes. Objective The study objective is to describe and investigate dietary composition, micronutrient density, lifestyle, socioeconomic factors, and adherence to the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations across groups defined by their level of adherence to a healthy Nordic food index (HNFI). The paper examines both dietary components included in the HNFI as well as dietary components, which are not part of the HNFI, to get a broad picture of the diet. Design The study is cross-sectional and conducted in the Swedish Women's Lifestyle and Health cohort. We included 45,277 women, aged 29–49 years at baseline (1991–1992). The HNFI was defined by six items: wholegrain bread, oatmeal, apples/pears, cabbages, root vegetables and fish/shellfish, using data from a food frequency questionnaire. Proportions, means and standard deviations were calculated in the entire cohort and by adherence groups. Results Women scoring high on the HNFI had a higher energy intake, compared to low adherers. They had a higher intake of fiber and a higher micronutrient density (components of the HNFI), but also a higher intake of items not included in the HNFI: red/processed meats, sweets, and potatoes. They were on average more physically active and less likely to smoke. Conclusions Adherence to the HNFI was associated with a generally healthier lifestyle and a high intake of health-beneficial components. However, it was also associated with a higher energy intake and a higher intake of foods without proven health benefits. Therefore, future studies on the HNFI and health outcomes should take into account potential confounding of dietary and lifestyle factors associated with the HNFI. PMID:25773303

  9. The Relationship Between Demographic Factors and Prevalence of 10 Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahmut Kilic

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Aim: Lifestyle preferences are closely associated with cardiovascular disease and all deaths. The aim of this study was to establish the relationship between demographic factors and prevalence of 10 healthy lifestyle behaviors (HLSB in adults. Material and Method: This is a cross-sectional study. The study was conducted on 1815 adults living in the central province of Yozgat, in 2011. The data was collected via questionnaire from, prepared by the researchers based on the literature, by filling through the interviewer. Data were analyzed by binary logistic regression analysis. Results: In adults, determination of 10 HLSBs were more common seen; not alcohol intake, within 2 years blood pressure measured, not smoking, within 5 years cholesterol, and within 3 years blood sugar measured ( 91.0, 78.2, 67.0, 56.9, 54.8% respectively, and the lowest rates were seen sufficient exercise, restraining salt and fat intake, adequate fruit and vegetable consumption, and have a normal body mass index (23.7, 26.4, 29.6, 30.0, 35.6% respectively. While 22.5% of the participants have three or fewer HLSBs, 20.8% had seven and above HLSBs. With any chronic disease ones, female, the age of older ones, high levels of education and economic ones have higher rates of HLSBs. Discussion: To health promotion, %u201Chealthy lifestyle behaviors%u201D should be followed by health personnel who working in family health centers, and it should be focused on this subject by the public spotlight, the health services of school and occupational as well as.

  10. Evaluation of the Healthy Lifestyles Initiative for Improving Community Capacity for Childhood Obesity Prevention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berman, Marcie; Bozsik, Frances; Shook, Robin P; Meissen-Sebelius, Emily; Markenson, Deborah; Summar, Shelly; DeWit, Emily; Carlson, Jordan A

    2018-02-22

    Policy, systems, and environmental approaches are recommended for preventing childhood obesity. The objective of our study was to evaluate the Healthy Lifestyles Initiative, which aimed to strengthen community capacity for policy, systems, and environmental approaches to healthy eating and active living among children and families. The Healthy Lifestyles Initiative was developed through a collaborative process and facilitated by community organizers at a local children's hospital. The initiative supported 218 partners from 170 community organizations through training, action planning, coalition support, one-on-one support, and the dissemination of materials and sharing of resources. Eighty initiative partners completed a brief online survey on implementation strategies engaged in, materials used, and policy, systems, and environmental activities implemented. In accordance with frameworks for implementation science, we assessed associations among the constructs by using linear regression to identify whether and which of the implementation strategies were associated with materials used and implementation of policy, systems, and environmental activities targeted by the initiative. Each implementation strategy was engaged in by 30% to 35% of the 80 survey respondents. The most frequently used materials were educational handouts (76.3%) and posters (66.3%). The most frequently implemented activities were developing or continuing partnerships (57.5%) and reviewing organizational wellness policies (46.3%). Completing an action plan and the number of implementation strategies engaged in were positively associated with implementation of targeted activities (action plan, effect size = 0.82; number of strategies, effect size = 0.51) and materials use (action plan, effect size = 0.59; number of strategies, effect size = 0.52). Materials use was positively associated with implementation of targeted activities (effect size = 0.35). Community-capacity-building efforts can be

  11. Intercorrelations of lipoprotein subfractions and their covariation with lifestyle factors in healthy men

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Parlesak, Alexandr; Eckoldt, Joachim; Winkler, Karl

    2014-01-01

    So far, little is known about the effect of nutrition and lifestyle on the composition of circulating lipoprotein subfractions. In the current study, we measured the correlations among physical activity, nutrient intake, smoking, body-mass index (BMI), and age with the concentration of triglyceri......So far, little is known about the effect of nutrition and lifestyle on the composition of circulating lipoprotein subfractions. In the current study, we measured the correlations among physical activity, nutrient intake, smoking, body-mass index (BMI), and age with the concentration...... of triglycerides, cholesterol, phospholipids, and apolipoproteins (ApoA1, ApoA2 and ApoB) in subfractions of LDL and HDL in 265 healthy working men. Concentrations of cholesterol, phospholipids, and ApoB in small, dense atherogenic LDL particles (sdLDL) correlated negatively (p..., phospholipids, and ApoA1 in HDL2, respectively. Age correlated positively with sdLDL while increasing BMI correlated with an atherogenic shift of cholesterol, phospholipids, and ApoB from large, buoyant LDL (lbLDL) to sdLDL and decreasing concentrations of HDL2 constituents. Physical activity and alcohol intake...

  12. A Web-Based Lifestyle Medicine Curriculum: Facilitating Education About Lifestyle Medicine, Behavioral Change, and Health Care Outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frates, Elizabeth Pegg; Xiao, Ryan C; Sannidhi, Deepa; McBride, Yasamina; McCargo, Tracie; Stern, Theodore A

    2017-09-11

    Lifestyle medicine is the science and application of healthy lifestyles as interventions for the prevention and treatment of disease, and has gained significant momentum as a specialty in recent years. College is a critical time for maintenance and acquisition of healthy habits. Longer-term, more intensive web-based and in-person lifestyle medicine interventions can have a positive effect. Students who are exposed to components of lifestyle medicine in their education have improvements in their health behaviors. A semester-long undergraduate course focused on lifestyle medicine can be a useful intervention to help adopt and sustain healthy habits. To describe a novel, evidence based curriculum for a course teaching the concepts of Lifestyle Medicine based on a web-based course offered at the Harvard Extension School. The course was delivered in a web-based format. The Lifestyle Medicine course used evidence based principles to guide students toward a "coach approach" to behavior change, increasing their self-efficacy regarding various lifestyle-related preventive behaviors. Students are made to understand the cultural trends and national guidelines that have shaped lifestyle medicine recommendations relating to behaviors. They are encouraged to engage in behavior change. Course topics include physical activity, nutrition, addiction, sleep, stress, and lifestyle coaching and counseling. The course addressed all of the American College of Preventive Medicine/American College of Lifestyle Medicine competencies save for the competency of office systems and technologies to support lifestyle medicine counseling. The course was well-received, earning a ranking of 4.9/5 at the school. A novel, semester-long course on Lifestyle Medicine at the Harvard Extension School is described. Student evaluations suggest the course was well-received. Further research is needed to evaluate whether such a course empowers students to adopt behavior changes. ©Elizabeth Pegg Frates, Ryan C

  13. An exploration of beliefs and attitudes regarding healthy lifestyle behaviour in an urban population in The Netherlands : Results from a focus group study in a community-based prevention project

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kloosterboer, Sanne M.; van den Brekel, Karolien; Rengers, Antonia H.; Peek, Niels; de Wit, NJ

    Background: The positive effects of lifestyle intervention programmes might be enhanced when targeted to the health-related behaviour of the users. This study explores the beliefs and attitudes regarding a healthy lifestyle, the influences on lifestyle behavioural change and the needs to support a

  14. Practice paper of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics abstract: nutrition and lifestyle for a healthy pregnancy outcome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaiser, Lucia L; Campbell, Christina G

    2014-09-01

    It is the position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics that women of childbearing age should adopt a lifestyle optimizing health and reducing risk of birth defects, suboptimal fetal development, and chronic health problems in both mother and child.Components leading to healthy pregnancy outcome include healthy pre-pregnancy weight, appropriate weight gain and physical activity during pregnancy, consumption of a wide variety of foods, appropriate vitamin and mineral supplementation, avoidance of alcohol and other harmful substances, and safe food handling. Nutrition assessment needs to encompass changes in anthropometric,biochemical, and clinical indicators throughout pregnancy. Pregnant women should gain weight according to the 2009 Institute of Medicine Guidelines. Energy needs are no higher than the Estimated Energy Requirement for nonpregnant women until the second trimester; thereafter, the extra energy need per day is 340 kcal and 452 kcal in the second and third trimesters,respectively. Using the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, registered dietitian nutritionists and dietetics technicians, registered,can help pregnant women select a food plan based on age, physical activity, trimester, weight gain, and other considerations.Women are encouraged to participate in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity spread throughout the week or 30 minutes of moderately intense exercise on most days of the week.When good food choices are made, food consumption to meet extra energy needs and the increased absorption and efficiency of nutrient utilization that occurs in pregnancy are generally adequate to meet most nutrient needs. However, vitamin and mineral supplementation may be important in vulnerable cases including food insecurity; alcohol, tobacco, or other substance dependency; anemia; strict vegetarian (vegan) diet; or poor eating habits. Multiple strategies are needed to support healthy lifestyles for all women, from preconception

  15. [Healthy lifestyle formation and lower dependence on atmosphere oxygen in working].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Usti'yantsev, S L

    2016-01-01

    Studies covered 38 males in laboratory and 81 males in industrial conditions of 13 metallurgic enterprises and revealed some reliable phenomena caused by dry voluntary apnea of 10-60 seconds. At muscular rest and during physical exertion, evidences are that voluntary apnea forms transitory hypercapnic portion of blood in pulmonary arterial flow. First finding is that this portion in other blood behaves as an anabolic wave carrying increased concentration of low-molecular CO2 material and releasing additional (wave, according to authors) O2 from its depot in the body. This oxygen, in conditions of increased blood pressure due to apnea, is used for synthesis of additional ATP. These phenomena characterize formation and development a new beneficial physiologic system in workers--a functional system of motivation to healthy lifestyle.

  16. Healthy lifestyle in teachers

    OpenAIRE

    Pirzadeh, Asiyeh; Sharifirad, Gholamreza; Kamran, Aziz

    2012-01-01

    Introduction: The role of individual healthy behaviors like physical activity, nutrition and stress management on reduction of rate of disease mortality and morbidity is well known. The aim of this study is to determine healthy life style in teachers employed in district No.4 in Isfahan, Iran, in 2010. Materials and Methods: The participants of this cross-sectional study were 96 teachers in district No. 4, selected via random sampling method. The data collection was performed using a question...

  17. Physical culture as the basis of students' healthy lifestyle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kharissova, N; Kharissova, L; Smirnov, I; Kosibaeva, A; Mindubaeva, F

    2015-04-01

    The present study aimed at investigation of the relationship between physiological features of cardiorespiratory system of a group of athletes with individually-typological charac-teristics of the organism (age, type of constitution, sports experience, the degree of adaptation) to physical activities on the basis of a comprehensive study of the cardiorespiratory system. The study was conducted on 450 students from 18 to 24 years of age from Kazakhstan, Russia, India, and Pakistan to evaluate the influence of physical culture and sports on the formation of a healthy lifestyle of young people in higher education institutions. The students were divided into groups - the first group - student 18-20 years of age; the second group - students 21-24 years of age; the control group included students of the same age not actively involved in sports (2 lessons of physical training per week). The relationship between physiological features of cardiorespiratory system of athletes and individually-typological characteristics of the organism (age, type of constitution, sports experience, the degree of adaptation) was determined.

  18. Healthy Lifestyle through Young Adulthood and Presence of Low Cardiovascular Disease Risk Profile in Middle Age: The Coronary Artery Risk Development in (Young) Adults (CARDIA) Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Kiang; Daviglus, Martha L.; Loria, Catherine M.; Colangelo, Laura A.; Spring, Bonnie; Moller, Arlen C.; Lloyd-Jones, Donald M.

    2012-01-01

    Background A low cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk profile (untreated cholesterol risk profile. We examined whether adopting a healthy lifestyle throughout young adulthood is associated with presence of the low CVD risk profile in middle age. Methods and Results The CARDIA study sample consisted of 3,154 black and white participants aged 18 to 30 years at Year 0 (Y0, 1985-86) who attended the Year 0, 7 and 20 (Y0, Y7 and Y20) examinations. Healthy lifestyle factors (HLFs) defined at Y0, Y7 and Y20 included: 1) Average BMI risk profile at Y20 were 3.0%, 14.6%, 29.5%, 39.2% and 60.7% for people with 0 or 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 HLFs, respectively (p-trend risk profile in middle age. Public health and individual efforts are needed to improve adoption and maintenance of healthy lifestyles in young adults. PMID:22291127

  19. The Healthy Lifestyle and Personal Control Questionnaire (HLPCQ): a novel tool for assessing self-empowerment through a constellation of daily activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Darviri, Christina; Alexopoulos, Evangelos C; Artemiadis, Artemios K; Tigani, Xanthi; Kraniotou, Christina; Darvyri, Panagiota; Chrousos, George P

    2014-09-24

    The main goal of stress management and health promotion programs is to improve health by empowering people to take control over their lives. Daily health-related lifestyle choices are integral targets of these interventions and critical to evaluating their efficacy. To date, concepts such as self-efficacy, self-control and empowerment are assessed by tools that only partially address daily lifestyle choices. The aim of this study is to validate a novel measurement tool, the Healthy Lifestyle and Personal Control Questionnaire (HLPCQ), which aims to assess the concept of empowerment through a constellation of daily activities. Therefore, we performed principal component analysis (PCA) of 26 items that were derived from the qualitative data of several stress management programs conducted by our research team. The PCA resulted in the following five-factor solution: 1) Dietary Healthy Choices, 2) Dietary Harm Avoidance, 3) Daily Routine, 4) Organized Physical Exercise and 5) Social and Mental Balance. All subscales showed satisfactory internal consistency and variance, relative to theoretical score ranges. Subscale scores and the total score were significantly correlated with perceived stress and health locus of control, implying good criterion validity. Associations with sociodemographic data and other variables, such as sleep quality and health assessments, were also found. The HLPCQ is a good tool for assessing the efficacy of future health-promoting interventions to improve individuals' lifestyle and wellbeing.

  20. Towards measurement of the Healthy Ageing Phenotype in lifestyle-based intervention studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lara, Jose; Godfrey, Alan; Evans, Elizabeth; Heaven, Ben; Brown, Laura J E; Barron, Evelyn; Rochester, Lynn; Meyer, Thomas D; Mathers, John C

    2013-10-01

    Given the biological complexity of the ageing process, there is no single, simple and reliable measure of how healthily someone is ageing. Intervention studies need a panel of measures which capture key features of healthy ageing. To help guide our research in this area, we have adopted the concept of the "Healthy Ageing Phenotype" (HAP) and this study aimed to (i) identify the most important features of the HAP and (ii) identify/develop tools for measurement of those features. After a comprehensive assessment of the literature we selected the following domains: physiological and metabolic health, physical capability, cognitive function, social wellbeing, and psychological wellbeing which we hoped would provide a reasonably holistic characterisation of the HAP. We reviewed the literature and identified systematic reviews and/or meta-analysis of cohort studies, and clinical guidelines on outcome measures of these domains relevant to the HAP. Selection criteria for these measures included: frequent use in longitudinal studies of ageing; expected to change with age; evidence for strong association with/prediction of ageing-related phenotypes such as morbidity, mortality and lifespan; whenever possible, focus on studies measuring these outcomes in populations rather than on individuals selected on the basis of a particular disease; (bio)markers that respond to (lifestyle-based) intervention. Proposed markers were exposed to critique in a Workshop held in Newcastle, UK in October 2012. We have selected a tentative panel of (bio)markers of physiological and metabolic health, physical capability, cognitive function, social wellbeing, and psychological wellbeing which we propose may be useful in characterising the HAP and which may have utility as outcome measures in intervention studies. In addition, we have identified a number of tools which could be applied in community-based intervention studies designed to enhance healthy ageing. We have proposed, tentatively, a panel

  1. Healthy lifestyle interventions in general practice: Part 1: An ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Poor lifestyle choices including physical inactivity, adverse nutrition and tobacco use are strongly associated with heart disease, diabetes, respiratory disease and cancer. These four diseases are responsible for over 50% of mortality worldwide. Yet lifestyle intervention is underemphasised in the undergraduate training of ...

  2. Healthy Children, Strong Families 2: A randomized controlled trial of a healthy lifestyle intervention for American Indian families designed using community-based approaches.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomayko, Emily J; Prince, Ronald J; Cronin, Kate A; Parker, Tassy; Kim, Kyungmann; Grant, Vernon M; Sheche, Judith N; Adams, Alexandra K

    2017-04-01

    Background/Aims Few obesity prevention trials have focused on young children and their families in the home environment, particularly in underserved communities. Healthy Children, Strong Families 2 is a randomized controlled trial of a healthy lifestyle intervention for American Indian children and their families, a group at very high risk of obesity. The study design resulted from our long-standing engagement with American Indian communities, and few collaborations of this type resulting in the development and implementation of a randomized clinical trial have been described. Methods Healthy Children, Strong Families 2 is a lifestyle intervention targeting increased fruit and vegetable intake, decreased sugar intake, increased physical activity, decreased TV/screen time, and two less-studied risk factors: stress and sleep. Families with young children from five American Indian communities nationwide were randomly assigned to a healthy lifestyle intervention ( Wellness Journey) augmented with social support (Facebook and text messaging) or a child safety control group ( Safety Journey) for 1 year. After Year 1, families in the Safety Journey receive the Wellness Journey, and families in the Wellness Journey start the Safety Journey with continued wellness-focused social support based on communities' request that all families receive the intervention. Primary (adult body mass index and child body mass index z-score) and secondary (health behaviors) outcomes are assessed after Year 1 with additional analyses planned after Year 2. Results To date, 450 adult/child dyads have been enrolled (100% target enrollment). Statistical analyses await trial completion in 2017. Lessons learned Conducting a community-partnered randomized controlled trial requires significant formative work, relationship building, and ongoing flexibility. At the communities' request, the study involved minimal exclusion criteria, focused on wellness rather than obesity, and included an active

  3. Nutrition and the Malaysian Healthy Lifestyle Programme: challenges in implementation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suleiman, T S; Siong, T E

    1998-12-01

    There are significant differences in the food consumption patterns of countries. In the lower income countries, most of the energy intake is derived from cereals and starchy roots. On the other hand, the intake of these carbohydrate foods is much lower in the economically developed countries and more of the energy is derived from added fats, alcohol, meat, dairy products and sweeteners. The contribution of energy from various food groups has changed markedly over the past three decades. With increasing national wealth there is a general tendency for the consumption of cereal foods to decline, whereas the consumption of added fats, alcohol, meat and dairy products has increased over the years. Similar changes have also been observed for Malaysia. These dietary alterations, as well as other lifestyle changes, have brought about a new nutrition scenario in many developing countries. These countries are now faced with the twin problems of malnutrition, that is, undernutrition among some segments of the population and diet-related chronic diseases in other groups; for example, obesity, hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes and various cancers. In Malaysia, deaths due to diseases of the circulatory system and neoplasms have been on the rise since the 1960s. The former has been the most important cause of death in the country for more than 15 years, with cancer ranking third for almost 10 years. Epidemiological data collected from different community groups showed increased prevalences of various risk factors amongst Malaysians. In view of the changed nutrition scenario in the country, intervention programmes have been reviewed accordingly. The Healthy Lifestyle (HLS) Programme was launched in 1991 as a comprehensive, long-term approach to combating the emerging diet-related chronic diseases. For six consecutive years one thematic campaign per year was carried out; namely, coronary heart disease (1991), sexually transmitted diseases (1992), food safety (1993

  4. Physicians' health habits are associated with lifestyle counseling for hypertensive patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hung, Olivia Y; Keenan, Nora L; Fang, Jing

    2013-02-01

    The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC VII) recommended lifestyle interventions, either with or without pharmacologic treatment, for all patients with high blood pressure. The objective of this study is to determine the association of physicians' personal habits with their attitudes and behaviors regarding JNC VII lifestyle modification guidelines. One thousand primary care physicians completed DocStyles 2010, a voluntary web-based survey designed to provide insight into physician attitudes and behaviors regarding various health issues. The respondents' average age was 45.3 years, and 68% were male. In regards to physician behavior, 4.0% smoked at least once a week, 38.6% ate ≥5 cups of fruits and/or vegetables ≥5 days/week, and 27.4% exercised ≥5 days/week. When asked about specific types of advice offered to their hypertensive patients, physicians reported recommending that their patients eat a healthy diet (92.2%), or cut down on salt (96.1%), or attain or maintain a healthy weight (94.8%), or limit the use of alcohol (75.4%), or be physically active (94.4%). Collectively, 66.5% made all 5 lifestyle modification recommendations. Nonsmoking physicians were more likely to recommend each lifestyle intervention to their hypertensive patients. Those who exercised at least 1 day per week were more likely to recommend limiting alcohol use. The probability of recommending all 5 JNC VII interventions was greater for physicians who were nonsmoking and who exercised at least 1 day a week.

  5. The Role of Vitality in the Relationship between a Healthy Lifestyle and Societal Costs of Health Care and Lost Productivity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hartman, L.; Dongen, J.M. van; Hildebrandt, V.H.; Strijk, J.E.

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: To examine the mediating effect of vitality in the relationship between healthy lifestyle characteristics and health-care and productivity-related costs. Design: Observational prospective cohort study with 2 measurements. Online questionnaires were filled out in 2013 (T0) and 2014 (T1).

  6. Stage of Change and Motivation to a Healthier Lifestyle before and after an Intensive Lifestyle Intervention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Livia, Buratta; Elisa, Reginato; Claudia, Ranucci; Roberto, Pippi; Cristina, Aiello; Emilia, Sbroma Tomaro; Chiara, Perrone; Alberto, Tirimagni; Angelo, Russo; Pierpaolo, De Feo; Claudia, Mazzeschi

    2016-01-01

    Lifestyle modification programs are different but typically include both nutritional aspects and physical activity as main domains with different behavioral and/or psychological strategies designed to affect change. A fundamental role in modifying unhealthy habits is played by personal motivation for change. The present study sought to investigate, in a group of 100 overweight/obese outpatients with and/or without TMD2, treatment seeking, the effect of an intensive lifestyle program on medical measures and motivational profile for physical activity (PA) and healthy nutrition (NUTR). Subjects participated in an intensive multidisciplinary lifestyle intervention at C.U.R.I.A.MO. Before and after the intervention, patients received a comprehensive evaluation of their clinical, anthropometric, and metabolic states and motivation to lifestyle changes. Data showed differences before and after intervention in both medical and motivational measures. Before the intervention patients reported to be ready, open, and determined to change and gave importance to healthy habits. After the intervention patients continued to be determined but increased the actions toward the change showing a higher degree of maintenance and of acquisition of habits especially in the physical domain of the new lifestyle. Data support the notion that the motivation should be followed during all the lifestyle interventions to support the change on both domains of the lifestyle program.

  7. Effects of Lifestyle on Muscle Strength in a Healthy Danish Population

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bartels, Else Marie; Robertson, Samuel; Danneskiold-Samsøe, Bente

    2018-01-01

    The Copenhagen City Heart Study (CCHS) and measurements of Isokinetic muscle strength from a sub-study of randomly selected healthy participants from CCHS. Methods: 126 women and 63 men were studied. All participants completed a questionnaire regarding their lifestyle, including physical activity, alcohol intake...... in the lower extremities (p = 0.03) for women, and lower extremities (p = 0.03) and trunk (p = 0.007) for men. Alcohol Intake was in general not correlated to muscle strength. No clear effect of smoking was seen on muscle strength. Conclusion: Our results show that physical activity during leisure...... and smoking habits. Isokinetic muscle strength was measured over the upper extremities (UE), trunk, and lower extremities (LE). Multivariate analyses including all of the variables were carried out. Results: The level of daily physical activity during leisure was positively correlated to muscle strength...

  8. Effects of Lifestyle on Muscle Strength in a Healthy Danish Population

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bartels, Else Marie; Robertson, Samuel; Danneskiold-Samsøe, Bente

    2018-01-01

    The Copenhagen City Heart Study (CCHS) and measurements of Isokinetic muscle strength from a sub-study of randomly selected healthy participants from CCHS. Methods: 126 women and 63 men were studied. All participants completed a questionnaire regarding their lifestyle, including physical activity, alcohol intake...... in the lower extremities (p = 0.03) for women, and lower extremities (p = 0.03) and trunk (p = 0.007) for men. Alcohol Intake was in general not correlated to muscle strength. No clear effect of smoking was seen on muscle strength. Conclusions: Our results show that physical activity during leisure...... and smoking habits. Isokinetic muscle strength was measured over the upper extremities (UE), trunk, and lower extremities (LE). Multivariate analyses including all of the variables were carried out. Results: The level of daily physical activity during leisure was positively correlated to muscle strength...

  9. Intensive lifestyle intervention improves cardiometabolic and exercise parameters in metabolically healthy obese and metabolically unhealthy obese individuals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dalzill, Claudie; Nigam, Anil; Juneau, Martin; Guilbeault, Valérie; Latour, Elise; Mauriège, Pascale; Gayda, Mathieu

    2014-04-01

    The effects of an intensive lifestyle intervention including Mediterranean diet nutritional counselling and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on body composition, cardiometabolic, and exercise parameters were studied in metabolically unhealthy obese (NMHO) and metabolically healthy but obese (MHO) subjects. Fifty-five MHO (51 ± 8 years; waist circumference, 109 ± 13 cm) and 79 NMHO subjects (54 ± 9 years; waist circumference, 112 ± 13 cm) participated in an intensive lifestyle modification program based on Mediterranean diet nutritional counselling and HIIT 2-3 times per week. Body composition, cardiometabolic, and exercise parameters were measured at baseline and after 9 months. Initially, MHO patients had a lower blood pressure (BP), fasting glycemia, triglycerides, and a higher high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and peak oxygen uptake (VO2 peak) (P lifestyle program including Mediterranean diet nutritional counselling and HIIT is an appropriate intervention in MHO and NMHO subjects with similar potential clinical health benefits including an improved body composition, BP, fasting glycemia, insulin sensitivity, VO2 peak, and muscle endurance. Copyright © 2014 Canadian Cardiovascular Society. All rights reserved.

  10. Motivation is a crucial factor for adherence to a healthy lifestyle among people with coronary heart disease after percutaneous coronary intervention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kähkönen, Outi; Kankkunen, Päivi; Saaranen, Terhi; Miettinen, Heikki; Kyngäs, Helvi; Lamidi, Marja-Leena

    2015-10-01

    To test the Theory of Adherence of People with Chronic Disease with regard to adherence to treatment among patients with coronary heart disease after a percutaneous coronary intervention. Increased knowledge of the concept of adherence is needed for the development of nursing interventions and nursing guidelines for patients with coronary heart disease. A cross-sectional, multi-centre study. This study was conducted from February-December 2013 with 416 patients with coronary heart disease 4 months after undergoing a percutaneous coronary intervention. A self-reported questionnaire was used to assess their adherence to treatment. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling. The theory explained 45% of the adherence to a healthy lifestyle and 7% of the adherence to medication. Structural equation modelling confirmed that motivation and results of care had the highest association with adherence to a healthy lifestyle. Responsibility was associated with adherence to medication. Support from next of kin, support from nurses and physicians, and motivation, co-operation, fear of complications and a sense of normality were associated with adherence. Patients who are motivated to perform self-care and consider the results of care to be important were more likely to adhere to a healthy lifestyle. Responsible patients were more likely to adhere to their medication. It is important to account for these elements as a part of secondary prevention strategies among patients with coronary heart disease after a percutaneous coronary intervention. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  11. Healthy lifestyles and school life

    OpenAIRE

    Circe Sánchez-Rodríguez

    2017-01-01

    Promoting a culture in health not only towards the physical but mental health of the human being is a priority in the training of the professionals of the Preschool Education, evidenced in the diagnosis implemented, that provided the necessary information of the real and desired state in terms of the insufficiencies that present the students of 1st, 2nd and 3rd year of the day course of the Degree in Pre-school Education; in their lifestyles for the formation of coexistence in the university ...

  12. Lifestyles Based on Health Components in Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Babaei

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Context Lifestyle is a way employed by people, groups and nations and is formed in specific geographical, economic, political, cultural and religious texts. Health depends on lifestyle and is essential to preserve and promote health and improve lifestyle. Objectives The present study aimed to investigate lifestyle based on health-oriented components in Iran. Data Sources The research was conducted through E-banks including scientific information database (SID, Iran medical science databank (Iran Medex, Iran journal databank (Magiran and other databases such as Elsevier, PubMed and google scholar meta search engine regarding the subject from 2000 to 2014. Moreover, Official Iranian statistics and information were applied. The search terms used included lifestyle, health, health promoting behaviors, health-oriented lifestyle and lifestyle in Iran. Study Selection In the primary research, many papers were observed out of which 157 (120 in Farsi and 37 in English were selected. Data Extraction Following the careful study of these papers and excluding the unqualified papers, 19 papers with thorough information and higher relevance with the research purpose were selected. Results After examining articles based on the selected keywords and search strategies, 215 articles (134 in Farsi and 81 in English were obtained. Components of lifestyle and health are increasing in recent years; therefore, 8 (42% and 11 (58% articles were published during 2005 - 2010 and 2011 - 2014, respectively. Among them, there were 3 (16%, 8 (42%, 2 (10.5%, 2 (10.5% and 0 articles on the review of literature, descriptive-analytic, qualitative, analytic and descriptive articles, respectively. Conclusions Due to positive effect of healthy lifestyle on health promotion of individuals, it would be better for the government to provide comprehensive programs and policies in the society to enhance awareness of people about positive effects of health-oriented lifestyle on life and

  13. The largest human cognitive performance dataset reveals insights into the effects of lifestyle factors and aging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel A Sternberg

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Making new breakthroughs in understanding the processes underlying human cognition may depend on the availability of very large datasets that have not historically existed in psychology and neuroscience. Lumosity is a web-based cognitive training platform that has grown to include over 600 million cognitive training task results from over 35 million individuals, comprising the largest existing dataset of human cognitive performance. As part of the Human Cognition Project, Lumosity’s collaborative research program to understand the human mind, Lumos Labs researchers and external research collaborators have begun to explore this dataset in order uncover novel insights about the correlates of cognitive performance. This paper presents two preliminary demonstrations of some of the kinds of questions that can be examined with the dataset. The first example focuses on replicating known findings relating lifestyle factors to baseline cognitive performance in a demographically diverse, healthy population at a much larger scale than has previously been available. The second example examines a question that would likely be very difficult to study in laboratory-based and existing online experimental research approaches: specifically, how learning ability for different types of cognitive tasks changes with age. We hope that these examples will provoke the imagination of researchers who are interested in collaborating to answer fundamental questions about human cognitive performance.

  14. The nature of behavioural correlates of healthy ageing: a twin study of lifestyle in mid to late life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGue, Matt; Skytthe, Axel; Christensen, Kaare

    2014-06-01

    With the greying of the industrialized world has come increased interest in identifying the modifiable lifestyle factors that promote healthy and successful ageing. Whereas many of the behavioural correlates of late-life morbidity and mortality have been identified, relatively little is known about the origins of individual differences in these factors. A sample of 12,714 twins, including both members of 3806 pairs of known zygosity, ascertained through the Danish Twin Registry and aged 40 to 80 years, completed a self-report assessment of six lifestyle factors associated with ageing: smoking, drinking, diet and physical, social and intellectual activities. Standard biometric methods were used to analyse the twin data and determine the extent to which individual differences in each of the lifestyle factors are heritable. For each of the six lifestyle factors, the estimate of heritability ranged from 32% (95% CI: 19-42%) for the diet scale to 69% (62-72%) for the smoking measure. Biometric estimates of the contribution of the twins' common rearing environment were uniformly small (≤6%). There was little evidence that standardized biometric estimates varied by gender or age. Individuals likely construct lifestyles in part to complement and reinforce underlying genetically influenced dispositions and talents. The heritable nature of lifestyle factors implies that the behavioural and genetic contributors to ageing processes are not necessarily conceptually distinct but rather reflect the complexity of gene-environment interplay in ageing. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association © The Author 2014; all rights reserved.

  15. Healthy Cooking Techniques

    Science.gov (United States)

    Healthy Lifestyle Nutrition and healthy eating Healthy-cooking techniques capture the flavor and nutrients of food without extra fat or salt. By Mayo Clinic Staff Healthy cooking doesn't mean that ...

  16. Policy to shape healthy lifestyles among youth in Ukraine: organizational aspects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liashchuk, Iryna

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND. Poor state of young people’s health in Ukraine questions the adequacy of current national policy aimed at shaping youth healthy lifestyles (PYHL. Recent reorganization of state institutions, in particular the abolition of the Ministry of Family, Youth and Sport Affairs, along with a number of other relevant institutions, creates the need to redistribute the authority between the participants of PYHL in Ukraine. The objective of this study was to identify main problem areas in the organization of PYHL and find ways for its optimization, taking into consideration the experience of European countries.METHODS. 1 Analysis of legal acts, national reports and other official documents related to PYHL was carried out for such countries as Sweden, Norway, Lithuania and Ukraine. 2 Semi-structured interviews regarding the current state of PYHL and potential ways for its improvement were conducted with Ukrainian specialists working in the field of PYHL.RESULTS. PYHL in European countries is well-regulated and intersectoral. The existence of national strategies and plans for shaping youth healthy lifestyles, which are based on the relevant evidence, simplifies the process of effectiveness evaluation. Ministries of health and social affairs are the key participants of PYHL, while departments of public health are important advisory institutions. Municipalities (Sweden, Norway and municipal bureaus of public health (Lithuania are the direct implementers of PYHL that in its turn is focused on local health needs. PYHL in Ukraine is fragmentary and unsystematic. The key player of PYHL is the Ministry of Education, Science, Youth, and Sport Affairs, but there is no united system that would consolidate the efforts on different levels. Uneven resource allocation among regions and ignoring the local needs hinders the effective implementation of PYHL. Lack of common understanding of the YHL concept, poor coordination mechanisms, failure to use evidence

  17. The Mediterranean Lifestyle as a Non-Pharmacological and Natural Antioxidant for Healthy Aging

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    Kyriazoula Chatzianagnostou

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Oxidative stress has been suggested to affect age-associated physiological dysfunction. Therefore, it is speculated that antioxidant supplements could have a potential role in preventing age-related diseases and death. Among different dietary habits, the highly antioxidant Mediterranean dietary pattern, which includes high vegetable and fruit intake, consumption of legumes, cereals, and fish, low intake of meat and dairy derivatives, moderate red wine consumption, and use of extra-virgin olive oil, is characterized by other aspects than food, such as conviviality, sensory stimulation, socialization, biodiversity, and seasonality that can reinforce the Mediterranean diet’s (MeD beneficial effects on wellbeing, quality of life, and healthy aging. The present review aims to discuss available data on the relationship between oxidative stress and aging, biomarkers of oxidative stress status, protective effects of the MeD, and the adoption of the Mediterranean lifestyle as a non-pharmacological and natural tool to cope with oxidative stress damage for a longer life span, and—even more important—healthy aging beyond the biological, psychological, and social challenges that old age entails.

  18. Knowledge, attitude and practice regarding lifestyle modification in type 2 diabetic patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okonta, Henry I; Ikombele, John B; Ogunbanjo, Gboyega A

    2014-12-09

    The number of persons suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus continues to rise worldwide and causes significant morbidity and mortality, especially in the developing world. Behaviour change and adoption of healthy lifestyle habits help to prevent or slow down the complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, the knowledge and practice of healthy lifestyles in many diabetic patients have been inadequate. This study sought to establish the knowledge, attitude and practice regarding lifestyle modification amongst type 2 diabetic patients. The diabetic clinic of Mamelodi hospital, Pretoria, Gauteng Province, South Africa. A cross-sectional study was done using a structured questionnaire amongst 217 type 2 diabetic patients seen at the diabetic clinic of Mamelodi hospital. Baseline characteristics of the participants were obtained and their knowledge, attitude and practice regarding lifestyle modification were assessed. Of the 217 participants, 154 (71%) were obese and 15 (7%) were morbidly obese. The majority of respondents (92.2%) had poor knowledge of the benefits of exercise, weight loss and a healthy diet. What is interesting is that the majority (97.7%) demonstrated bad practices in relation to lifestyle modifications, although over four-fifths (84.3%) had a positive attitude toward healthy lifestyle modifications. Despite the positive attitudes of respondents toward healthy lifestyle modifications, the knowledge and practice regarding lifestyle modifications amongst type 2 diabetes mellitus participants seen at Mamelodi hospital were generally poor.

  19. Stage of Change and Motivation to a Healthier Lifestyle before and after an Intensive Lifestyle Intervention

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    Buratta Livia

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective. Lifestyle modification programs are different but typically include both nutritional aspects and physical activity as main domains with different behavioral and/or psychological strategies designed to affect change. A fundamental role in modifying unhealthy habits is played by personal motivation for change. The present study sought to investigate, in a group of 100 overweight/obese outpatients with and/or without TMD2, treatment seeking, the effect of an intensive lifestyle program on medical measures and motivational profile for physical activity (PA and healthy nutrition (NUTR. Method. Subjects participated in an intensive multidisciplinary lifestyle intervention at C.U.R.I.A.MO. Before and after the intervention, patients received a comprehensive evaluation of their clinical, anthropometric, and metabolic states and motivation to lifestyle changes. Results. Data showed differences before and after intervention in both medical and motivational measures. Before the intervention patients reported to be ready, open, and determined to change and gave importance to healthy habits. After the intervention patients continued to be determined but increased the actions toward the change showing a higher degree of maintenance and of acquisition of habits especially in the physical domain of the new lifestyle. Conclusion. Data support the notion that the motivation should be followed during all the lifestyle interventions to support the change on both domains of the lifestyle program.

  20. Lifestyle predictors of oxidant and antioxidant enzyme activities and total antioxidant capacity in healthy women: a cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahasneh, Amjad A; Zhang, Yali; Zhao, Hua; Ambrosone, Christine B; Hong, Chi-Chen

    2016-12-01

    The aim of this study was to identify demographic and modifiable lifestyle factors that may be related to endogenous oxidant and antioxidant activity measured in blood specimens from putatively healthy women recruited at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute (Buffalo, NY, USA). Total glutathione (TGSH), catalase (CAT), CuZn-superoxide dismutase (CuZn-SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) were measured in 124 healthy women, and associations with epidemiological factors were tested using general linear models. There were significant differences in oxidant and antioxidant enzyme activities according to lifestyle factors, after adjusting for duration of blood storage and season of blood draw. Compared to women who consumed ≤2.8 servings of fruits and vegetables daily, those consuming >5.3 servings had on average 31 % lower MPO activity (p-trend = 0.02), as a marker of oxidative stress, 16 % higher antioxidant GPx activity (p-trend = 0.08), and 9 % higher TAC (p-trend = 0.05). Obese women (body mass index, BMI ≥ 30) in contrast showed 17 % lower antioxidant GPx activity, 44 % higher MPO activity (p-trend = 0.03), and 10 % higher TAC (p-trend = 0.03) compared to women with normal BMI lifestyle factors and, therefore, may be potentially modifiable, with implications for risk reduction of chronic conditions related to oxidative stress.

  1. Lifestyle, mental health status and salivary secretion rates

    OpenAIRE

    Toda, Masahiro; Morimoto, Kanehisa; Fukuda, Sanae; Hayakawa, Kazuo

    2002-01-01

    The relations between salivary variables, lifestyle and mental health status were investigated for 61 healthy female university students. The salivary secretion rates were significantly higher in the good lifestyle groups compared with the poor lifestyle groups. Among the 8 lifestyle items tested. “eating breakfast” and “mental stress” were significantly related to the salivary secretion rates. The present findings suggest that the acquisition of a good lifestyle is also very important from t...

  2. Medication or Lifestyle for Pre-Diabetes

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Disease Venous Thromboembolism Aortic Aneurysm More Medication or Lifestyle Changes for Pre-diabetes Updated:Aug 30,2016 What’s best? Medication or ... doesn’t “fix” things, or make a healthy lifestyle less important. Some people with diabetes will always need some help from medications, but ...

  3. Is integration of healthy lifestyle promotion into primary care feasible? Discussion and consensus sessions between clinicians and researchers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arrazola Arantza

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The adoption of a healthy lifestyle, including physical activity, a healthy diet, moderate alcohol consumption and abstinence from smoking, is associated with a major decrease in the incidence of chronic diseases and mortality. Primary health-care (PHC services therefore attempt, with rather limited success, to promote such lifestyles in their patients. The objective of the present study is to ascertain the perceptions of clinicians and researchers within the Basque Health System of the factors that hinder or facilitate the integration of healthy lifestyle promotion in routine PHC setting. Methods Formative research based on five consensus meetings held by an expert panel of 12 PHC professionals with clinical and research experience in health promotion, supplied with selected bibliographic material. These meetings were recorded, summarized and the provisional findings were returned to participants in order to improve their validity. Results The Health Belief Model, the Theory of Planned Action, the Social Learning Theory, "stages of change" models and integrative models were considered the most useful by the expert panel. Effective intervention strategies, such as the "5 A's" strategy (assess, advise, agree, assist and arrange are also available. However, none of these can be directly implemented or continuously maintained under current PHC conditions. These strategies should therefore be redesigned by adjusting the intervention objectives and contents to the operation of primary care centres and, in turn, altering the organisation of the centres where they are to be implemented. Conclusion It is recommended to address optimisation of health promotion in PHC from a research perspective in which PHC professionals, researchers and managers of these services cooperate in designing and evaluating innovative programs. Future strategies should adopt a socio-ecological approach in which the health system plays an essential role but

  4. Healthy Lifestyle: Women's Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... maintain a healthy weight. Try brisk walking, jogging, biking, swimming or water aerobics. If you're a ... as dancing and gardening, also can improve your health. Whatever you choose, take time to warm up ...

  5. Using Facebook in a Healthy Lifestyle Intervention: Feasibility and Preliminary Efficacy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ling, Jiying; Robbins, Lorraine B; Zhang, Nanhua; Kerver, Jean M; Lyons, Haley; Wieber, Nicole; Zhang, Mi

    2018-02-01

    The purpose of this pilot quasi-experimental study was to examine the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of using Facebook in a 10-week lifestyle intervention with Head Start caregiver-preschooler dyads to improve healthy behaviors and reduce body mass index. Sixty-nine dyads participated with 39 in the intervention group. Average preschooler attendance rate for the Head Start center-based program was 77%, and caregiver participation rate was 87%. About 94% of the caregivers were satisfied with the program, and 97% would recommend the program to others and/or participate again. The intervention decreased preschoolers' body mass index z score (Cohen's d = -.30) and screen time ( d = -.21), and increased their fruit and vegetable intake ( d = .40) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity ( d = .42). The intervention increased caregivers' fruit and vegetable intake ( d = .40). The intervention is feasible, and preliminary efficacy is encouraging, but further investigation using a rigorous study design is warranted.

  6. Nutrition and lifestyle in healthy aging: the telomerase challenge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boccardi, Virginia; Paolisso, Giuseppe; Mecocci, Patrizia

    2016-01-01

    Nutrition and lifestyle, known to modulate aging process and age-related diseases, might also affect telomerase activity. Short and dysfunctional telomeres rather than average telomere length are associated with longevity in animal models, and their rescue by telomerase maybe sufficient to restore cell and organismal viability. Improving telomerase activation in stem cells and potentially in other cells by diet and lifestyle interventions may represent an intriguing way to promote health-span in humans.

  7. Physical activity of Estonian family doctors and their counselling for a healthy lifestyle: a cross-sectional study

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    Rätsep Anneli

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Physical activity offers major health benefits and counselling for it should be integrated into the medical consultation. Based on the literature, the personal health behaviour of the physician (including physical activity is associated with his/her approach to counselling patients. Our hypothesis is that family doctors (FD in Estonia are physically active and their recommendation to counsel patients with chronic diseases to use physical activity is high. The study was also interested in how FDs value physical activity among other important determinants of a healthy lifestyle, e.g. nutrition, non-consumption of alcohol, and non-smoking. Methods Physicians on the electronic list were contacted by e-mail and sent a questionnaire. The first part assessed physical activity by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ short form. Self-reported physical activity during one week was calculated as total physical activity in minutes per week (MET min/week. The second part of the questionnaire included questions about the counselling of patients with chronic disease concerning their physical activity and a healthy lifestyle. The study focused on female FDs because 95% of the FDs in Estonia are women and to avoid bias related to gender. Results 198 female FDs completed the questionnaire. 92% reported that they exercised over the past 7 days to a moderate or high level of physical activity. Analysis revealed no statistically significant relationship between the level of physical activity and general characteristics (age, living area, body mass index [BMI], time spent sitting. FDs reported that patients with heart problems, diabetes, and obesity seek their advice on physical activity more often than patients with depression. Over 94% of the FDs claimed that they counsel their patients with chronic diseases about exercising. According to the FDs' reports, the most important topic in counselling patients for a healthy

  8. Physical activity, lifestyle and leisure constraints in a selected female ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Research has revealed that physical activity and a healthy lifestyle are inter alia considered as crucial factors in maintaining optimal health. These relationships are however influenced by age and sex. Women are often constrained in their ability to reach optimum levels of physical activity participation and healthy lifestyle.

  9. Design and rationale for a technology-based healthy lifestyle intervention in older adults grieving the loss of a spouse

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah T. Stahl

    2017-12-01

    Discussion: Several challenges in implementing our lifestyle interventions to older widow(ers who are at risk for common mental disorders have been identified. Direct outreach to hospice organizations is an effective way to identify older adults in the early months following spousal death. Results from study may advance the field of grief support and promote a healthy adaptation to widowhood.

  10. Thalassemia: Healthy Living

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Thalassemia” More What can a person living with thalassemia do to stay healthy? A healthy lifestyle is ... disorder”, as well as making healthy choices. Managing Thalassemia Thalassemia is a treatable disorder that can be ...

  11. Role of Counseling to Promote Adherence in Healthy Lifestyle Medicine: Strategies to Improve Exercise Adherence and Enhance Physical Activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stonerock, Gregory L; Blumenthal, James A

    Although healthy lifestyles (HL) offer a number of health benefits, nonadherence to recommended lifestyle changes remains a frequent and difficult obstacle to realizing these benefits. Behavioral counseling can improve adherence to an HL. However, individuals' motivation for change and resistance to altering unhealthy habits must be considered when developing an effective approach to counseling. In the present article, we review psychological, behavioral, and environmental factors that may promote adherence and contribute to nonadherence. We discuss two established models for counseling, motivational interviewing and the transtheoretical model of behavior change, and provide an example of how these approaches can be used to counsel patients to exercise and increase their levels of physical activity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. SaludABLEOmaha: improving readiness to address obesity through healthy lifestyle in a Midwestern Latino community, 2011-2013.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frerichs, Leah; Brittin, Jeri; Robbins, Regina; Steenson, Sharalyn; Stewart, Catherine; Fisher, Christopher; Huang, Terry T-K

    2015-02-12

    A community's readiness for change is a precursor to the effective application of evidence-based practices for health promotion. Research is lacking regarding potential strategies to improve readiness to address obesity-related health issues in underserved communities. This case study describes SaludABLEOmaha, an initiative to increase readiness of residents in a Midwestern Latino community to address obesity and adopt healthy lifestyles. SaludABLEOmaha emphasized 2 core approaches, youth activism and collaboration among public and private institutions, which we applied to planning and implementing tactics in support of 3 interconnected strategies: 1) social marketing and social media, 2) service learning in schools (ie, curricula that integrate hands-on community service with instruction and reflection), and 3) community and business engagement. Following the Community Readiness Model protocol (http://triethniccenter.colostate.edu/communityReadiness.htm), structured interviews were conducted with community leaders and analyzed before and 2.5 years after launch of the program. The community increased in readiness from stage 3 of the Community Readiness Model, "vague awareness," at baseline to stage 5, "preparation," at follow-up. SaludABLEOmaha improved community readiness (eg, community knowledge, community climate), which probably contributed to the observed increase in readiness to address obesity through healthy lifestyle. Community mobilization approaches such as youth activism integrated with social marketing and social media tactics can improve community responsiveness to obesity prevention and diminish health disparities.

  13. Traditional and cyberbullying victimization as correlates of psychosocial distress and barriers to a healthy lifestyle among severely obese adolescents--a matched case-control study on prevalence and results from a cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeSmet, Ann; Deforche, Benedicte; Hublet, Anne; Tanghe, Ann; Stremersch, Evi; De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse

    2014-03-05

    Obese youth are at increased risk for peer victimization, which may heighten their risk of psychosocial problems and physical activity avoidance, and lower the effectiveness of professional and lifestyle weight-loss initiatives. Little is known about obese adolescents' risk for victimization from cyber-bullying and how this relates to psychosocial functioning and healthy lifestyle barriers. The purpose of the study was to assess traditional and cyber-victimization among adolescents with severe obesity and its relation to psychosocial distress and barriers to healthy lifestyles. A sample of 102 obese adolescents (mean age=15.32±1.71) in residential treatment was matched with 102 normal-weight youngsters from the Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) study (mean age=15.30±1.73). Adolescents with obesity were significantly more often cyber-victimized than normal-weight peers. Obese youth victimized by traditional bullying experienced lower quality of life, lower motivation for physical activity and higher avoidance and emotional coping towards healthy lifestyles than those non-victimized. Obese cyber-victims experienced significantly higher suicidal ideation. Traditional and cyber-victimization may hinder treatment effectiveness and healthy lifestyle change in adolescents with obesity. Health professionals should pro-actively address peer victimization and psychosocial functioning during multidisciplinary obesity treatment. Schools could contribute to a better physical and psychosocial health of obese youth by implementing multi-behavioral health-promotion programs.

  14. Supporting adherence and healthy lifestyles in leg ulcer patients: systematic development of the Lively Legs program for dermatology outpatient clinics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heinen, Maud M; Bartholomew, L Kay; Wensing, Michel; van de Kerkhof, Peter; van Achterberg, Theo

    2006-05-01

    The objective of our project was to develop a lifestyle program for leg ulcer patients at outpatient clinics for dermatology. We used the intervention-mapping (IM) framework for systematically developing theory and evidence based health promotion programs. We started with a needs-assessment. A multidisciplinary project group of health care workers and patients was involved in all five IM steps; formulating proximal program objectives, selecting methods and strategies, producing program components, planning for adoption and implementation and planning for evaluation. Several systematic literature reviews and original studies were performed to support this process. Social Cognitive Theory was selected as the main theory behind the program 'Lively Legs' and was combined with elements of Goal-Setting Theory, the precaution adoption model and motivational interviewing. The program is conducted through health counseling by dermatology nurses and was successfully pre-tested. Also, an implementation and evaluation plan were made. Intervention mapping helped us to succeed in developing a lifestyle program with clear goals and methods, operational strategies and materials and clear procedures. Coaching leg ulcer patients towards adherence with compression therapy and healthy lifestyles should be taken on without delay. Systematic development of lifestyle programs for other patient groups should be encouraged.

  15. Self-reported health status, body mass index, and healthy lifestyle behaviors: differences between Baby Boomer and Generation X employees at a southeastern university.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, Melondie R; Kelly, Rebecca K

    2013-09-01

    The aim of this study was to assess differences in self-reported health status, body mass index (BMI), and healthy lifestyle behaviors between Baby Boomer and Generation X faculty and staff at a southeastern university. Data were drawn from employee health risk assessment and BMI measures. A total of 730 Baby Boomer and 765 Generation X employees enrolled in a university health promotion and screening program were included in the study. Ordered logistic regressions were calculated separately for BMI, perceived health status, and three healthy lifestyle behaviors. After covariates such as job role, gender, race, education, and income were controlled, Baby Boomers were more likely than Generation X employees to report better health status and dietary habits. Baby Boomers were also more likely to engage in weekly aerobic physical activity (p generational differences when developing health promotion programs. Copyright 2013, SLACK Incorporated.

  16. Genetics, lifestyle and longevity: Lessons from centenarians

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diddahally Govindaraju

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Longevity as a complex life-history trait shares an ontogenetic relationship with other quantitative traits and varies among individuals, families and populations. Heritability estimates of longevity suggest that about a third of the phenotypic variation associated with the trait is attributable to genetic factors, and the rest is influenced by epigenetic and environmental factors. Individuals react differently to the environments that they are a part of, as well as to the environments they construct for their survival and reproduction; the latter phenomenon is known as niche construction. Lifestyle influences longevity at all the stages of development and levels of human diversity. Hence, lifestyle may be viewed as a component of niche construction. Here, we: a interpret longevity using a combination of genotype-epigenetic-phenotype (GEP map approach and niche-construction theory, and b discuss the plausible influence of genetic and epigenetic factors in the distribution and maintenance of longevity among individuals with normal life span on the one hand, and centenarians on the other. Although similar genetic and environmental factors appear to be common to both of these groups, exceptional longevity may be influenced by polymorphisms in specific genes, coupled with superior genomic stability and homeostatic mechanisms, maintained by negative frequency-dependent selection. We suggest that a comparative analysis of longevity between individuals with normal life span and centenarians, along with insights from population ecology and evolutionary biology, would not only advance our knowledge of biological mechanisms underlying human longevity, but also provide deeper insights into extending healthy life span.

  17. Genetics, lifestyle and longevity: Lessons from centenarians

    Science.gov (United States)

    Govindaraju, Diddahally; Atzmon, Gil; Barzilai, Nir

    2015-01-01

    Longevity as a complex life-history trait shares an ontogenetic relationship with other quantitative traits and varies among individuals, families and populations. Heritability estimates of longevity suggest that about a third of the phenotypic variation associated with the trait is attributable to genetic factors, and the rest is influenced by epigenetic and environmental factors. Individuals react differently to the environments that they are a part of, as well as to the environments they construct for their survival and reproduction; the latter phenomenon is known as niche construction. Lifestyle influences longevity at all the stages of development and levels of human diversity. Hence, lifestyle may be viewed as a component of niche construction. Here, we: a) interpret longevity using a combination of genotype-epigenetic-phenotype (GEP) map approach and niche-construction theory, and b) discuss the plausible influence of genetic and epigenetic factors in the distribution and maintenance of longevity among individuals with normal life span on the one hand, and centenarians on the other. Although similar genetic and environmental factors appear to be common to both of these groups, exceptional longevity may be influenced by polymorphisms in specific genes, coupled with superior genomic stability and homeostatic mechanisms, maintained by negative frequency-dependent selection. We suggest that a comparative analysis of longevity between individuals with normal life span and centenarians, along with insights from population ecology and evolutionary biology, would not only advance our knowledge of biological mechanisms underlying human longevity, but also provide deeper insights into extending healthy life span. PMID:26937346

  18. The Role of Vitality in the Relationship Between a Healthy Lifestyle and Societal Costs of Health Care and Lost Productivity: A Mediation Analysis.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hartman, L.; van Dongen, J.M.; Hildebrandt, V.H.; Strijk, J.E.

    2016-01-01

    PURPOSE: To examine the mediating effect of vitality in the relationship between healthy lifestyle characteristics and health-care and productivity-related costs. DESIGN: Observational prospective cohort study with 2 measurements. Online questionnaires were filled out in 2013 (T0) and 2014 (T1).

  19. A cluster randomised controlled trial of an intervention to promote healthy lifestyle habits to school leavers: study rationale, design, and methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillison, Fiona; Standage, Martyn; Verplanken, Bas

    2014-03-04

    Physical inactivity and a poor diet predict lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain types of cancer. Marked declines in physical activity occur during late adolescence, coinciding with the point at which many young people leave school and enter the workforce and begin to take greater control over their lifestyle behaviours. The work outlined within this paper sought to test a theoretically-informed intervention aimed at supporting increased engagement in physical activity and healthy eating habits in young people at the point of transition from school to work or work-based learning. As actively engaging young people in initiatives based on health messages is challenging, we also tested the efficacy of financial incentives in promoting initial engagement with the programme. A three-arm cluster-randomised design was used. Participants were school pupils from Year 11 and 13 (i.e., in their final year of study), aged 16-18 years. To reduce contamination effects, the unit of randomisation was school. Participants were randomly allocated to receive (i) a 12-week behavioural support intervention consisting of six appointments, (ii) a behavioural support intervention plus incentives (totalling £40), or (iii) an information-only control group. Behavioural support was provided by fitness advisors at local leisure centres following an initial consultation with a dietician. Sessions focused on promoting habit formation through setting implementation intentions as part of an incremental goal setting process. Consistent with self-determination theory, all advisors were trained to provide guidance in an autonomy-supportive manner so that they were equipped to create a social context supportive of autonomous forms of participant motivation. The primary outcome was objectively assessed physical activity (via GT1M accelerometers). Secondary outcome measures were diet, motivation and habit strength. Data were collected at baseline, post

  20. Dietary and other lifestyle correlates of serum folate concentrations in a healthy adult population in Crete, Greece: a cross-sectional study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Scott John M

    2006-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Folate has emerged as a key nutrient for optimising health. Impaired folate status has been identified as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, various types of cancers, and neurocognitive disorders. The study aimed at examining the distribution and determinants of serum folate concentrations in a healthy adult population in Crete, Greece. Methods A cross-sectional sample of 486 healthy adults (250 men, 236 women aged 39 ± 14 years, personnel of the Medical School and the University Hospital of Crete in Greece, was examined. Serum folate and vitamin B12 concentrations were measured by microbiological assay, and total homocysteine was determined fluorometrically and by high-pressure liquid chromatography. Lifestyle questionnaires were completed, and nutrient intakes and food consumption were assessed by 24-h dietary recalls. Multivariate analyses were performed using SPSS v10.1. Results The geometric mean (95% confidence interval concentrations of serum folate were 15.6 μmol/l (14.6–16.8 in men and 19.2 μmol/l (17.9–20.7 in women (p 1, and B6 were positively associated with serum folate. Consumption of potatoes, legumes, fruits, and vegetables were favourably related to the serum folate status. Conclusion Serum folate concentrations were associated with various demographic, lifestyle and dietary factors in healthy Cretan adults. Large-scale epidemiological studies should be conducted within the general Greek adult population to assess the prevalence of impaired folate status and further examine associations with dietary patterns and chronic disease risk. Considering the importance of folate in health maintenance, it is important to increase the public's awareness of modifiable lifestyle patterns and diet and tobacco use in particular, which may be associated with improved folate status.

  1. Influence of Immunology Knowledge on Healthcare and Healthy Lifestyle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abu Kassim, Noor Lide; Saleh Huddin, Afiqah Binti; Daoud, Jamal Ibrahim; Rahman, Mohammad Tariqur

    2016-01-01

    Completing a course in Immunology is expected to improve health care knowledge (HCK), which in turn is anticipated to influence a healthy lifestyle (HLS), controlled use of health care services (HCS) and an awareness of emerging health care concerns (HCC). This cross-sectional study was designed to determine whether these interrelationships are empirically supported. Participants involved in this study were government servants from two ministries in Malaysia (n = 356) and university students from a local university (n = 147). Participants were selected using the non-random purposive sampling method. Data were collected using a self-developed questionnaire, which had been validated in a pilot study involving similar subjects. The questionnaire items were analyzed using Rasch analysis, SPSS version 21 and AMOS version 22. Results have shown that participants who followed a course in Immunology (CoI) had a higher primary HCK (Mean = 0.69 logit, SD = 1.29 logits) compared with those who had not (Mean = -0.27logit, SD = 1.26 logits). Overall, there were significant correlations among the HLS, the awareness of emerging HCC, and the controlled use of HCS (p Immunology at various levels of education and increasing the public awareness of emerging HCC might help to improve population health en masse. In addition, further investigations on the factors affecting HLS is required to provide a better understanding on the relationship between primary HCK and HLS.

  2. The low youth motivation for physical training or sports is the problem of healthy lifestyle forming

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kulish N.M.

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Motivation aspects of physical training and sports are analyzed. The group motivation of three students' teams, where 67 persons are studying, investigated according methodic "The need to achieve the aim" and "Group motivation". It is set the men's need to achieve the aim is much higher then women's, also the men team better motivated for working in the group. All motives are analyzed, the conclusions are set, the reasons of this situation are analyzed. The got results can be used for increasing the motivation of students and pupils. The connection between motivation of sports and healthy lifestyle is reviewed.

  3. Relationships among work stress, job satisfaction, mental health, and healthy lifestyle behaviors in new graduate nurses attending the nurse athlete program: a call to action for nursing leaders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melnyk, Bernadette Mazurek; Hrabe, David P; Szalacha, Laura A

    2013-01-01

    Although nurses are educated to take outstanding care of others, they themselves often have poor health outcomes, including high rates of depression and obesity, which are associated with stressful work environments. Furthermore, a high percentage of new graduate nurses leave their positions in the first year of employment, resulting in exorbitant costs to health care systems. The aim of this study was to determine the relationships among key variables that influence job satisfaction and healthy lifestyle behaviors of new graduate nurses, including workplace stress, work environment, lifestyle beliefs, and mental health. A descriptive correlational design was used with baseline data from 61 new graduate nurses attending the 2-day Nurse Athlete program, a workshop that focuses on nutrition, energy management, and physical activity. Higher levels of workplace stress were associated with higher levels of depression and anxiety as well as lower levels of resiliency, job satisfaction, and healthy lifestyle beliefs. Nurse leaders and managers must invest in creating healthy work environments for new and experienced nurses as well as provide mental health screening, resources, and intervention programs that focus on education and skills-building in health promoting behaviors, including emotional regulation of stress, anxiety, and depression.

  4. Healthy lifestyle and normal waist circumference are associated with a lower 5-year risk of type 2 diabetes in middle-aged and elderly individuals: Results from the healthy aging longitudinal study in Taiwan (HALST).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Chu-Chih; Liu, Kiang; Hsu, Chih-Chen; Chang, Hsing-Yi; Chung, Hsiao-Chun; Liu, Jih-Shin; Liu, Yo-Hann; Tsai, Tsung-Lung; Liaw, Wen-Jin; Lin, I-Ching; Wu, Hsi-Wen; Juan, Chung-Chou; Chiu, Hou-Chang; Lee, Marion M; Hsiung, Chao A

    2017-02-01

    Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is known to be closely associated with lifestyle and obesity and has a prevalence that increases with age. This study aimed to assess the short-term composite effect of diet, physical activity, psychosocial health, and waist circumference (WC) on the incidence of DM in the elderly and to provide a lifestyle-based predictive index.We used baseline measurements (2009-2013) of 5349 community-dwelling participants (aged 55 years and older, 52% female) of the Healthy Aging Longitudinal Study in Taiwan (HALST) for fasting plasma glucose, HbA1C, serum cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressures, WC, and outcomes of home-visit questionnaire. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to identify participants with a healthy lifestyle (HLF: higher diet, physical activity, and psychosocial scores) and a lower WC, with cutoffs determined by the receiver-operating characteristics. A Cox regression model was applied to 3424 participants without DM at baseline by linking to their National Health Insurance records (median follow-up of 3.1 years).In total, 247 new DM cases (7.2%) were identified. The HLF and lower WC group had a relative risk (RR) of DM of 0.54 (95% CI 0.35-0.82) compared to the non-HLF and higher WC group. When stratified by the presence of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) or metabolic syndrome (MS), only participants with IGT/MS showed significant risks (RR 0.55; 95% CI 0.33-0.92). However, except for WC, the individual lifestyle factors were nonsignificant in the overall model without PCA.A composite protective effect of HLF and normal WC on DM within 5 years was observed, especially in those with IGT or MS. Psychosocial health constituted an important lifestyle factor in the elderly. The cutoffs identified could be used as a lifestyle-based risk index for DM. Maintaining an HLF to prevent DM is especially important for the elderly.

  5. Geographic Determinants of Healthy Lifestyle Change in a Community-Based Exercise Prescription Delivered in Family Practice

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    Robert J. Petrella

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Evidence is unequivocal that exercise training can improve health outcomes. However, despite this evidence, adoption of healthy lifestyles is poor. The physical environment is one possible determinant of successful adoption of healthy lifestyles that could influence outcomes in community-based intervention strategies. We developed a novel exercise prescription delivered in two different cohorts of older sedentary adults—one delivered by family physicians to patients with identified cardiovascular risk factors (CRF and the other delivered at a community exercise facility to a larger cohort of healthy sedentary adults (HSA. We then determined whether the place of residence and proximity to facilities promoting physical activity and healthy or unhealthy eating could influence clinical changes related to these community-based exercise prescriptions.Methods: Two different cohorts of older patients were administered similar exercise prescriptions. The CRF cohort was a sedentary group of 41 older adults with either high-normal blood pressure (120–139 mmHg/85–89 mmHg or impaired glucose tolerance (fasting glucose 6.1–6.9 mmol/l who were prescribed exercise by their family physicians at baseline and followed over 12 months. The HSA cohort consisted of 159 sedentary older adults who were prescribed a similar exercise prescription and then participated in a chronic training program over 5 years at a community-based training facility. Out- comes of interest were change in fitness (VO2max, resting systolic blood pressure (rSBP and body mass index (BMI. GIS-determined shortest distance to local facilities promoting physical activity and healthy versus unhealthy were compared at baseline and follow up using simple logistic regression.Those subjects in CRF group were further identified as responders (exhibited an above average change in VO2max and were then compared to non-responders according to their patterns of proximity to physical

  6. Nutritional knowledge in European adolescents: results from the HELENA (Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence) study.

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    Sichert-Hellert, Wolfgang; Beghin, Laurent; De Henauw, Stefaan; Grammatikaki, Evangelia; Hallström, Lena; Manios, Yannis; Mesana, María I; Molnár, Dénes; Dietrich, Sabine; Piccinelli, Raffaela; Plada, Maria; Sjöström, Michael; Moreno, Luis A; Kersting, Mathilde

    2011-12-01

    To build up sufficient knowledge of a 'healthy diet'. Here, we report on the assessment of nutritional knowledge using a uniform method in a large sample of adolescents across Europe. A cross-sectional study. The European multicentre HELENA (Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence) study conducted in 2006-2007 in ten cities in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece (one inland and one island city), Hungary, Italy, Spain and Sweden. A total of 3546 adolescents (aged 12·5-17·5 years) completed a validated nutritional knowledge test (NKT). Socio-economic variables and anthropometric data were considered as potential confounders. NKT scores increased with age and girls had higher scores compared with boys (62% v. 59%; P Nutritional knowledge was modest in our sample. Interventions should be focused on the lower SES segments of the population. They should be initiated at a younger age and should be combined with environmental prevention (e.g. healthy meals in school canteens).

  7. Effectiveness of participatory adolescent strategic health action (PASHA for lifestyle modification among adolescents

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    Asha P Shetty

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Lifestyle modification is one of the methods to promote healthy lifestyle among adolescents. In this study, the researcher planned to develop, implement and evaluate a need based Participatory Adolescent Strategic Health Action (PASHA for lifestyle modification among selected adolescents. Materials and Methods: An evaluative approach with Quasi experimental one group pretest post test design (time series was adopted. Sample constituted 103 adolescents, aged 12-17 years studying in high schools and pre university colleges of Udupi district selected based on convenient sampling. Data was gathered using reliable and valid tools. Results: The mean combined preventive health lifestyle score among all adolescents increased from 75.65-81.56. Similarly the number of adolescents with healthy lifestyle score also increased from 28.2-53.4% after practicing for 180 days. Analysis of all the components of lifestyle showed that the adolescents had adopted healthy lifestyle practices in all the components of lifestyle. The number of adolescents with combined health status score also showed an increase from 31.1-54.4% after implementing PASHA practice. Analysis of reported outcome among subjects indicated that PASHA was motivating to improve their lifestyle practices. Conclusion: PASHA was found to be effective in lifestyle modification of adolescents. It is reiterated that when lifestyle modification is to be done, a strategy to improve self directedness and self efficacy should be adopted.

  8. Perceptions of the participants of a stretch break program about flexibility and factors related to a healthy lifestyle

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    Élyda Cristina de Oliveira Brito

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To verify the perception of employees about the trunk and hip flexibility, and other factors related to a physically active lifestyle and healthy after adherence to the Gymnastics Program, Federal University of Paraíba. Methods: The research was qualitative with descriptive nature. Gymnastics classes were offered for two months of 2011, with a frequency of three times a week, being emphasized stretching exercises, relaxation, recreational activities, massage and individualized care. The population included servers of some sectors of the rectory, and the sample consisted of 10 employees, with inclusion criteria as the regular participation of the subjects taught in class for two months. Data were collected in the period from 4 to 16 November 2011 through semi-structured interviews, using a previously pilot to check the clarity and understanding of the issues. The analysis of the speeches occurred through the technique of content analysis, being explored through the analysis categories. Results: Our results corroborate with the literature, as reports have suggested to have occurred benefits generated by the program, particularly in relation to pain, mood, flexibility of the trunk and hip, healthy eating and interpersonal relationships. Conclusion: The Gymnastics Program, Federal University of Paraíba positively affected the lifestyle of its participants, favoring different aspects of quality of life related to health of workers studied.

  9. Development of a training programme for home health care workers to promote preventive activities focused on a healthy lifestyle: an intervention mapping approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walters, Maaike E; Dijkstra, Arie; de Winter, Andrea F; Reijneveld, Sijmen A

    2015-07-09

    Lifestyle is an important aspect in maintaining good health in older adults, and home health care (HHC) workers can play an important role in promoting a healthy lifestyle. However, there is limited evidence in the literature regarding how to develop an effective training programme to improve the physical activity level and fruit and vegetable consumption of older adults within a HHC setting. The aim of this paper is to describe how Intervention Mapping (IM) was used to develop a training programme to promote preventive activities of HHC workers relating to the physical activity and fruit and vegetable intake of older adults living at home. IM, a systematic theory and evidence-based approach was used to develop, implement and evaluate the training programme. This entailed a literature search, a survey, semi-structured interviews and consultation with HHC workers and various field experts, and a pilot training session. The determinants associated with the provision of preventive activities were identified, and an overview was created of those objectives, matching methods and practical applications that could influence these determinants. The performance objectives for the HHC workers were early detection and monitoring, promoting a healthy lifestyle, informing colleagues, continuing allocated preventive activities and referring to other experts and facilities. Findings were translated into a comprehensive training programme for HHC workers focused on motivating older adults to adopt and maintain a healthier lifestyle. IM was a useful tool in the development of a theory-based training programme to promote preventive activities by HHC workers relating to fruit and vegetable intake and physical activity of older adults.

  10. Primary care nurses struggle with lifestyle counseling in diabetes care: a qualitative analysis

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    Elwyn Glyn

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Patient outcomes are poorly affected by lifestyle advice in general practice. Promoting lifestyle behavior change require that nurses shift from simple advice giving to a more counseling-based approach. The current study examines which barriers nurses encounter in lifestyle counseling to patients with type 2 diabetes. Based on this information we will develop an implementation strategy to improve lifestyle behavior change in general practice. Method In a qualitative semi-structured study, twelve in-depth interviews took place with nurses in Dutch general practices involved in diabetes care. Specific barriers in counseling patients with type 2 diabetes about diet, physical activity, and smoking cessation were addressed. The nurses were invited to reflect on barriers at the patient and practice levels, but mainly on their own roles as counselors. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. The data were analyzed with the aid of a predetermined framework. Results Nurses felt most barriers on the level of the patient; patients had limited knowledge of a healthy lifestyle and limited insight into their own behavior, and they lacked the motivation to modify their lifestyles or the discipline to maintain an improved lifestyle. Furthermore, nurses reported lack of counseling skills and insufficient time as barriers in effective lifestyle counseling. Conclusions The traditional health education approach is still predominant in primary care of patients with type 2 diabetes. An implementation strategy based on motivational interviewing can help to overcome 'jumping ahead of the patient' and promotes skills in lifestyle behavioral change. We will train our nurses in agenda setting to structure the consultation based on prioritizing the behavior change and will help them to develop social maps that contain information on local exercise programs.

  11. The Effect of Electronic Education of Healthy Lifestyle on the Elderly’s Awareness and Satisfaction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ghassem Abedi

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background and purpose:The major motivation behind all human communities’ efforts and transformation is to promote and advance human beings health. This study aimed at to compare the effect of a healthy lifestyle electronic education on the knowledge and satisfaction of the elderly. Materials and Methods:This semi-experimental method has been done along with pre- and post-test for people 65 and older at Sari-based retirement Club in 2011. A total of 30 elderly people have been chosen through simple random sampling in two distinct 15 individual classes for women and men. The learners’ knowledge about nutrition has been assessed by using the standard questionnaire. The data have been described by SPSS software, using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. Results:Mean score of elderly’s awareness before electronic education was 1.72 with the standard deviation of 0.71 which increased to 2.37 for the mean and 0.90 for the standard deviation after the education. The correlated t-test with 3.20, the observed difference is significant at the error level of 0.05. The mean of elderly’s awareness before education was 11.55 with the standard deviation of 1.56 that increased after education 6.38 and 1.48, respectively. The level of satisfaction in the elderly was 52.73 with the standard deviation of 5.16. Conclusion:The result showed that training through educational film has been more effective on the elderly people’s nutritional knowledge and also the old people have been satisfied with the healthy lifestyle training through educational film. Thus, training via film and other educational means is recommended to promote the elderly’s health as a more efficient and effective method.

  12. Traditional and cyberbullying victimization as correlates of psychosocial distress and barriers to a healthy lifestyle among severely obese adolescents – a matched case–control study on prevalence and results from a cross-sectional study

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Background Obese youth are at increased risk for peer victimization, which may heighten their risk of psychosocial problems and physical activity avoidance, and lower the effectiveness of professional and lifestyle weight-loss initiatives. Little is known about obese adolescents’ risk for victimization from cyber-bullying and how this relates to psychosocial functioning and healthy lifestyle barriers. The purpose of the study was to assess traditional and cyber-victimization among adolescents with severe obesity and its relation to psychosocial distress and barriers to healthy lifestyles. Methods A sample of 102 obese adolescents (mean age = 15.32 ±1.71) in residential treatment was matched with 102 normal-weight youngsters from the Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) study (mean age = 15.30 ±1.73). Results Adolescents with obesity were significantly more often cyber-victimized than normal-weight peers. Obese youth victimized by traditional bullying experienced lower quality of life, lower motivation for physical activity and higher avoidance and emotional coping towards healthy lifestyles than those non-victimized. Obese cyber-victims experienced significantly higher suicidal ideation. Conclusions Traditional and cyber-victimization may hinder treatment effectiveness and healthy lifestyle change in adolescents with obesity. Health professionals should pro-actively address peer victimization and psychosocial functioning during multidisciplinary obesity treatment. Schools could contribute to a better physical and psychosocial health of obese youth by implementing multi-behavioral health-promotion programs. PMID:24593118

  13. The Role of Healthy Lifestyle in the Implementation of Regressing Suboptimal Health Status among College Students in China: A Nested Case-Control Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jieyu; Xiang, Hongjie; Jiang, Pingping; Yu, Lin; Jing, Yuan; Li, Fei; Wu, Shengwei; Fu, Xiuqiong; Liu, Yanyan; Kwan, Hiuyee; Luo, Ren; Zhao, Xiaoshan; Sun, Xiaomin

    2017-02-28

    Suboptimal health status (SHS) is the intermediate health state between health and disease, it is medically undiagnosed and is also termed functional somatic syndrome. Although its clinical manifestations are complicated and various, SHS has not reached the disease status. Unhealthy lifestyle is associated with many chronic diseases and mortality. In accordance with the impact of lifestyle on health, it is intriguing to determine the association between unhealthy lifestyle and SHS risk. We conducted a nested case-control study among healthy Chinese college students from March 2012 to September 2013, which was nested in a prospective cohort of 5676 students. We performed 1:1 incidence density sampling with matched controls for birth year, sex, grade, specialty and individual character. SHS was evaluated using the medical examination report and Sub-health Measurement Scale V1.0 (SHMS V1.0). Exposure was defined as an unhealthy lifestyle per the frequency of six behavioral dimensions from the Health-promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP-II). We matched 543 cases of SHS (42.66%) in a cohort of 1273 students during the 1.5 years mean follow-up time with controls. A significant difference (t = 9.79, p lifestyle behavior with respect to behavioral dimensions significantly affected SHS likelihood. Further analyses revealed a marked increase (average increased 14.73 points) in lifestyle level among those SHS regression to health after 1.5 years, with respect to the HPLP-II behavioral dimensions, in addition to the total score (t = -15.34, p lifestyles, and the Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14, 240 2 of 17 mitigation of modifiable lifestyle risk factors may lead to SHS regression. Increased efforts to modify unhealthy lifestyles are necessary to prevent SHS.

  14. A comprehensive health plan: The lifestyle affecting factors in iranian youth

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    Ahdieh Chinekesh

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Factors affecting lifestyle become one of the most priorities of the research field, especially in adolescents and youth. Using a qualitative approach, this study aimed to understand what factors are affecting young people's healthy lifestyle. Methods: Using the conventional content analysis, and used the semi-structured in-depth interviews, we conducted a qualitative study to elicit the youth opinion considering their lifestyle affecting factors. Initially, purposeful sampling method was considered for data collection. Participants were selected from volunteered youths 18–30 years whom were selected from the Tehran city. Inclusion criteria for the participants were; (a willingness to participate in the study, and (b ability to express experiences. Results: According to findings, although the majority of participants agreed on the important role of lifestyle related behaviors in their healthy life, the lack of essential motivation and the pressure of educational assignments remove it from their daily program priorities. The most important barrier to observing the healthy lifestyle was expressed as; the acceptance of the concept by the individual and the social and economic potential of the individual. It was also suggested that practical interventions should focus on improving more participator engagement of all of the related stakeholders. Conclusions: We proposed the participatory strategies for youth healthy lifestyle promotion. Through which based on a specific needs the assessment of different target groups, designing, development, and implementation of health programs led to more effective interventions.

  15. Health coaching to improve healthy lifestyle behaviors: an integrative review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olsen, Jeanette M; Nesbitt, Bonnie J

    2010-01-01

    Chronic diseases account for 70% of U.S. deaths. Health coaching may help patients adopt healthy lifestyle behaviors that prevent and control diseases. This integrative review analyzed health coaching studies for evidence of effectiveness and to identify key program features. Multiple electronic databases were utilized, yielding a final sample of 15 documents. The search was limited to peer-reviewed research articles published between 1999 and 2008. Studies were further analyzed if they (1) specifically cited coaching as a program intervention, and (2) applied the intervention to research. Articles describing various quantitative and qualitative methodologies were critically analyzed using a systematic method. Data were synthesized using a matrix format according to purpose, method, intervention, findings, critique, and quality rating. All 15 studies utilized nonprobability sampling, 7 (47%) with randomized intervention and control groups. Significant improvements in one or more of the behaviors of nutrition, physical activity, weight management, or medication adherence were identified in six (40%) of the studies. Common features of effective programs were goal setting (73%), motivational interviewing (27%), and collaboration with health care providers (20%). Health coaching studies with well-specified methodologies and more rigorous designs are needed to strengthen findings; however, this behavioral change intervention suggests promise.

  16. Healthy Weight

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... such diets limit your nutritional intake, can be unhealthy, and tend to fail in the long run. The key to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight isn't about short-term dietary changes. It's about a lifestyle that includes healthy eating, regular physical activity, and ...

  17. Parental competence programs to promote positive parenting and healthy lifestyles in children: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruiz-Zaldibar, Cayetana; Serrano-Monzó, Inmaculada; Mujika, Agurtzane

    To analyze the available evidence regarding the efficacy of interventions on parents whose children were aged 2-5 years to promote parental competence and skills for children's healthy lifestyles. Articles published in English and Spanish, available at PubMed, Psycinfo, CINAHL, Web of Science, Eric, and Cochrane Library were reviewed. The literature search yielded 2282 articles. Forty-one full texts were retrieved and assessed for inclusion using the PRISMA flow diagram. Twenty-six articles were excluded, as they did not meet the inclusion criteria. In the end, 15 studies were included. The studies were conducted between 2003 and 2016, nine in North America, four in Europe, and two in Asia. Extracted data were synthesized in a tabular format. CASPe guide was used to assess the quality of studies that was moderate overall. Parental self-efficacy was the main construct assessed in most studies. Four studies reported an increase in parental self-efficacy, although most of them were studies without control groups. Outcomes of interventions to improve parental competence in order to promote children's lifestyles are promising, but inconsistent. Additional studies with higher methodological and conceptual quality are needed. Copyright © 2017 Sociedade Brasileira de Pediatria. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

  18. Gulhane Military Medical Academy Training Hospital, the applicant Determination of Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors in Individuals Diagnosed Coronary Artery Disease

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    Nilgun Kuru

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available AIM: The aim of the study, Coronary Artery Disease (CAD diagnosed with identification of individuals in specific behaviors to improve health, health status and related factors to determine the levels of detection. METHODS: This descriptive study of data types of the Gulhane Military Medical Academy (GATA Hospital cardiology clinic in December 2009 - February 2010 were collected. The study group, at least 6 months before the diagnosis of CAD area, between the ages of 20-65 individuals who accept and participate in the study (n = 300 formed. Sociodemographic characteristics and health behaviors of the personal information form for the 33-item, 52-item scale of a healthy lifestyle behaviors and health status of the single-item scale working group of the detection technique applied to the face-to-face interview. The aim of the study, Coronary Artery Disease (CAD for the development of health behaviors in the case of individuals diagnosed with the identification, health status and related factors to determine the levels of detection. The statistical analysis techniques such as Mann Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis were used for the comparison. RESULTS: Of the group 57,7% were males, 46,3% were 50-59 years of age and 56,3% were higher education graduates. As regard to total Health Promotion Life-Style Profile Scale scores statistically significant differences had been found between age, gender, education, disease period, occupation and chronic condition groups. As regard to the average PHSS scores statistically significant differences had been found between age, education, body mass index, disease period, occupation, chronic condition and CAD related course groups (p<0.05. CONCLUSION: Healthy lifestyle behaviors before planning training programs, individual models of health behavior and the behavior of individuals using the analyzed factors affecting.. [TAF Prev Med Bull 2012; 11(3.000: 287-298

  19. Does Unemployment Lead to a Less Healthy Lifestyle?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kaiser, Micha; Bauer, Jan Michael; Sousa-Poza, Alfonso

    2017-01-01

    In this article, we use 22 years of data from the German Socio-Economic Panel and information on plant closures to investigate the effects of unemployment on four indicators of unhealthy lifestyles: diet, alcohol consumption, smoking and (a lack of) physical activity. In contrast to much...

  20. Health behavior-related indicator of lifestyle: application in the ELSA-Brasil study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patrão, Ana Luísa; Almeida, Maria-da-Conceição C; Alvim, Sheila; Chor, Dora; Aquino, Estela M L

    2018-05-01

    Various behaviors are considered health enhancing. Nevertheless, according to the current scientific literature, four health behaviors are considered particularly risky in view of their association with a group of chronic diseases: 1) smoking; 2) excessive alcohol consumption; 3) poor diet; and 4) lack of physical activity. Theoretically, it should be possible to make improvements to one's health by maximizing the number of healthy behaviors and minimizing the unhealthy ones. However, in reality, the different behaviors interconnect to create more complex lifestyles. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to present the construction of a lifestyle indicator based on health behaviors selected in the ELSA-Brazil study. This indicator revealed two lifestyles: less healthy and healthier lifestyles. The model proved adequate and was confirmed using latent class analysis (LCA). Agreement was 83.2 between the indicator and the LCA results, with a kappa coefficient of 0.65. Women were more likely to have a healthier lifestyle than men, reinforcing the scientific consistency of the indicator, since this finding is in agreement with data from the scientific literature. The indicator created to define lifestyle was found to have scientific consistency and validity; therefore, its use can be recommended for future population-based studies concerning the promotion of health and healthy lifestyles.

  1. Body mass index, life-style, and healthy status in free living elderly people in Menorca Island.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferra, A; Bibiloni, M Del Mar; Zapata, M E; Pich, J; Pons, A; Tur, J A

    2012-04-01

    To assess the BMI, life-style, and healthy status, and explore relationships between these parameters, among Menorca's free living elderly people. A cross-sectional survey carried out in Menorca Island in 2009. A random sample (n=450) of the elderly population (≥65 years) was interviewed. Anthropometric measurements and a general questionnaire incorporating questions related to socio-demographic and life-style factors and health status were used. Approximately five per cent of elders were underweight and 60% overweight or obese. Underweight were positively and overweight and obesity negatively affected by age. The prevalence of central obesity, according to the WC cut-off points, was 66.8% in men and 85.1% in women. Low education, socioeconomic status and physical activity were risk factors for malnutrition and overweight/obesity. A possible cognitive impairment was found among elderly persons with BMIrelation between BMI and diabetes mellitus, arthritis, and chronic bronchitis, and an inverted J-shape between BMI and gastric ulcer, osteoporosis and bone fractures, cancer, and prostatitis (in men) were found. Both low and high BMI are associated with a wide range of prevalent conditions and diseases in Menorca elderly men and women.

  2. Efficacy of a 3-month lifestyle intervention program using a Japanese-style healthy plate on body weight in overweight and obese diabetic Japanese subjects: a randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamauchi, Keiko; Katayama, Tomomi; Yamauchi, Takahiro; Kotani, Kazuhiko; Tsuzaki, Kokoro; Takahashi, Kaoru; Sakane, Naoki

    2014-11-24

    The portion size of food is a determinant of energy intake, linking with obese traits. A healthy plate for portion control has recently been made in a Japanese style. The aim of the current study was to assess the efficacy of a lifestyle intervention program using the Japanese-style healthy plate on weight reduction in overweight and obese diabetic Japanese subjects. We randomized overweight and obese diabetic subjects (n = 19, 10 women) into an intervention group including educational classes on lifestyle modification incorporating the healthy plate (n = 10) or a waiting-list control group (n = 9). The intervention period was three months, and the educational classes using the healthy plate were conducted monthly in a group session for the intervention group. The body weight, blood glycemic and metabolic measures, and psychosocial variables were measured at the baseline and after the 3-month intervention in both groups. The impression of the intervention was interviewed using a structured questionnaire. There was one drop-out in the control group. No adverse events were reported in the groups. Subjects in the intervention group had a greater weight change from baseline to the end of the 3-month intervention period (-3.7 +/- 2.5 [SD] kg in the intervention group vs. -0.1 +/- 1.4 kg in the control group, P = 0.002). Most subjects recorded that the use of a healthy plate could be recommended to other people. The lifestyle intervention program using the Japanese-style healthy plate, which was developed for portion control, may effectively reduce body weight in overweight and obese diabetic subjects in Japan. Further studies are needed to establish the efficacy of this methodology on weight management.

  3. Healthy lifestyle and risk of breast cancer among postmenopausal women in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKenzie, Fiona; Ferrari, Pietro; Freisling, Heinz; Chajès, Veronique; Rinaldi, Sabina; de Batlle, Jordi; Dahm, Christina C; Overvad, Kim; Baglietto, Laura; Dartois, Laureen; Dossus, Laure; Lagiou, Pagona; Trichopoulos, Dimitrios; Trichopoulou, Antonia; Krogh, Vittorio; Panico, Salvatore; Tumino, Rosario; Rosso, Stefano; Bueno-de-Mesquita, H B As; May, Anne; Peeters, Petra H; Weiderpass, Elisabete; Buckland, Genevieve; Sanchez, Maria-Jose; Navarro, Carmen; Ardanaz, Eva; Andersson, Anne; Sund, Malin; Ericson, Ulrika; Wirfält, Elisabet; Key, Tim J; Travis, Ruth C; Gunter, Marc; Riboli, Elio; Vergnaud, Anne-Claire; Romieu, Isabelle

    2015-06-01

    Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women and prevention strategies are needed to reduce incidence worldwide. A healthy lifestyle index score (HLIS) was generated to investigate the joint effect of modifiable lifestyle factors on postmenopausal breast cancer risk. The study included 242,918 postmenopausal women from the multinational European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort, with detailed information on diet and lifestyle assessed at baseline. The HLIS was constructed from five factors (diet, physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption and anthropometry) by assigning scores of 0-4 to categories of each component, for which higher values indicate healthier behaviours. Hazard ratios (HR) were estimated by Cox proportional regression models. During 10.9 years of median follow-up, 7,756 incident breast cancer cases were identified. There was a 3% lower risk of breast cancer per point increase of the HLIS. Breast cancer risk was inversely associated with a high HLIS when fourth versus second (reference) categories were compared [adjusted HR = 0.74; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.66-0.83]. The fourth versus the second category of the HLIS was associated with a lower risk for hormone receptor double positive (adjusted HR = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.67-0.98) and hormone receptor double negative breast cancer (adjusted HR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.40-0.90). Findings suggest having a high score on an index of combined healthy behaviours reduces the risk of developing breast cancer among postmenopausal women. Programmes which engage women in long term health behaviours should be supported. © 2014 UICC.

  4. Is Participatory Design Associated with the Effectiveness of Serious Digital Games for Healthy Lifestyle Promotion? A Meta-Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeSmet, Ann; Thompson, Debbe; Baranowski, Tom; Palmeira, Antonio; Verloigne, Maïté; De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse

    2016-04-29

    Serious digital games can be effective at changing healthy lifestyles, but large differences in their effectiveness exist. The extent of user involvement in game design may contribute to game effectiveness by creating a better fit with user preferences. Participatory design (PD), which represents active user involvement as informant (ie, users are asked for input and feedback) or codesigner (ie, users as equal partners in the design) early on and throughout the game development, may be associated with higher game effectiveness, as opposed to no user involvement or limited user involvement. This paper reports the results of a meta-analysis examining the moderating role of PD in the effectiveness of serious digital games for healthy lifestyle promotion. Four databases were searched for peer-reviewed papers in English that were published or in press before October 2014, using a (group-) randomized controlled trial design. Effectiveness data were derived from another meta-analysis assessing the role of behavior change techniques and game features in serious game effectiveness. A total of 58 games evaluated in 61 studies were included. As previously reported, serious digital games had positive effects on healthy lifestyles and their determinants. Unexpectedly, PD (g=0.075, 95% CI 0.017 to 0.133) throughout game development was related to lower game effectiveness on behavior (Q=6.74, PGames developed with PD (g=0.171, 95% CI 0.061 to 0.281, Pgame effectiveness on self-efficacy (Q=7.83, Pgame design (g=0.384, 95% CI 0.283 to 0.485, Pgame design element. Games developed with PD were more effective in changing behavioral determinants when they included users in design elements on game dynamics (beta=.215, 95% CI .075 to .356, Pgame levels was also related to higher game effectiveness (Q=7.02, Pgame challenge (Q=11.23, Pgame effectiveness when used to create characters (Q=4.36, Pgame world (Q=3.99, Pgames developed with PD. However, significant differences existed among PD

  5. Lifestyle Changes in Young Adulthood and Middle Age and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease and All-Cause Mortality: The Doetinchem Cohort Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hulsegge, Gerben; Looman, Moniek; Smit, Henriëtte A; Daviglus, Martha L; van der Schouw, Yvonne T; Verschuren, W M Monique

    2016-01-13

    The associations between overall lifestyle profile and cardiovascular disease (CVD) and death have been mainly investigated in cross-sectional studies. The full benefits of a healthy lifestyle may therefore be underestimated, and the magnitude of benefits associated with changes in lifestyle remains unclear. We quantified the association of changes in lifestyle profiles over 5 years with risk of CVD and all-cause mortality. Lifestyle factors (ie, diet, physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption) and body mass index were assessed and dichotomized as healthy/unhealthy among 5263 adults ages 26 to 66 in 1993-1997 and 5 years later (1998-2002). Multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated to quantify associations of change in lifestyle with fatal/nonfatal CVD and all-cause mortality that occurred 8 to 15 years after 1998-2002. Independent of baseline lifestyles, each decrement in number of healthy lifestyle factors was, on average, associated with 35% higher risk of CVD (HR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.12-1.63) and 37% higher risk of all-cause mortality (HR, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.10-1.70); no association was noted with increase in the number of healthy lifestyle factors (P>0.5). Individuals who maintained 4 to 5 healthy lifestyle factors had 2.5 times lower risk of CVD (HR, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.25-0.63) and all-cause mortality (HR, 0.40; 95% CI, 0.22-0.73) than those who maintained only 0 to 1 healthy lifestyle factor. Our findings suggest that the benefits of healthy lifestyles may be easier lost than gained over a 5-year period. This underscores the need for efforts to promote maintenance of healthy lifestyles throughout the life course. © 2016 The Authors. Published on behalf of the American Heart Association, Inc., by Wiley Blackwell.

  6. SaludABLEOmaha: Improving Readiness to Address Obesity Through Healthy Lifestyle in a Midwestern Latino Community, 2011–2013

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frerichs, Leah; Brittin, Jeri; Robbins, Regina; Steenson, Sharalyn; Stewart, Catherine; Fisher, Christopher

    2015-01-01

    Background A community’s readiness for change is a precursor to the effective application of evidence-based practices for health promotion. Research is lacking regarding potential strategies to improve readiness to address obesity-related health issues in underserved communities. Community Context This case study describes SaludABLEOmaha, an initiative to increase readiness of residents in a Midwestern Latino community to address obesity and adopt healthy lifestyles. Methods SaludABLEOmaha emphasized 2 core approaches, youth activism and collaboration among public and private institutions, which we applied to planning and implementing tactics in support of 3 interconnected strategies: 1) social marketing and social media, 2) service learning in schools (ie, curricula that integrate hands-on community service with instruction and reflection), and 3) community and business engagement. Following the Community Readiness Model protocol (http://triethniccenter.colostate.edu/communityReadiness.htm), structured interviews were conducted with community leaders and analyzed before and 2.5 years after launch of the program. Outcome The community increased in readiness from stage 3 of the Community Readiness Model, “vague awareness,” at baseline to stage 5, “preparation,” at follow-up. Interpretation SaludABLEOmaha improved community readiness (eg, community knowledge, community climate), which probably contributed to the observed increase in readiness to address obesity through healthy lifestyle. Community mobilization approaches such as youth activism integrated with social marketing and social media tactics can improve community responsiveness to obesity prevention and diminish health disparities. PMID:25674679

  7. The contribution of lifestyle coaching of overweight patients in primary care to more autonomous motivation for physical activity and healthy dietary behaviour: results of a longitudinal study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rutten, Geert M; Meis, Jessie J M; Hendriks, Marike R C; Hamers, Femke J M; Veenhof, Cindy; Kremers, Stef P J

    2014-07-16

    Combined lifestyle interventions (CLIs) have been advocated as an effective instrument in efforts to reduce overweight and obesity. The odds of maintaining higher levels of physical activity (PA) and healthier dietary behaviour improve when people are more intrinsically motivated to change their behaviour. To promote the shift towards more autonomous types of motivation, facilitator led CLIs have been developed including lifestyle coaching as key element. The present study examined the shift in types of motivation to increase PA and healthy dieting among participants of a primary care CLI, and the contribution of lifestyle coaching to potential changes in motivational quality. This prospective cohort study included participants of 29 general practices in the Netherlands that implemented a CLI named 'BeweegKuur'. Questionnaires including items on demographics, lifestyle coaching and motivation were sent at baseline and after 4 months. Aspects of motivation were assessed with the Behavioural Regulation and Exercise Questionnaire (BREQ-2) and the Regulation of Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (REBS). We performed a drop out analysis to identify selective drop-out. Changes in motivation were analysed with t-tests and effect size interpretations (Cohen's d), and multivariate regression analysis was used to identify predictors of motivational change. For physical activity, changes in motivational regulation were fully in line with the tenets of Self Determination Theory and Motivational Interviewing: participants made a shift towards a more autonomous type of motivation (i.e. controlled types of motivation decreased and autonomous types increased). Moreover, an autonomy supportive coaching style was generally found to predict a larger shift in autonomous types of motivation. For healthy dietary behaviour, however, except for a small decrease in external motivation, no favourable changes in different types of motivation were observed. The relation between coaching and

  8. The contribution of lifestyle coaching of overweight patients in primary care to more autonomous motivation for physical activity and healthy dietary behaviour: results of a longitudinal study

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Background Combined lifestyle interventions (CLIs) have been advocated as an effective instrument in efforts to reduce overweight and obesity. The odds of maintaining higher levels of physical activity (PA) and healthier dietary behaviour improve when people are more intrinsically motivated to change their behaviour. To promote the shift towards more autonomous types of motivation, facilitator led CLIs have been developed including lifestyle coaching as key element. The present study examined the shift in types of motivation to increase PA and healthy dieting among participants of a primary care CLI, and the contribution of lifestyle coaching to potential changes in motivational quality. Methods This prospective cohort study included participants of 29 general practices in the Netherlands that implemented a CLI named ‘BeweegKuur’. Questionnaires including items on demographics, lifestyle coaching and motivation were sent at baseline and after 4 months. Aspects of motivation were assessed with the Behavioural Regulation and Exercise Questionnaire (BREQ-2) and the Regulation of Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (REBS). We performed a drop out analysis to identify selective drop-out. Changes in motivation were analysed with t-tests and effect size interpretations (Cohen’s d), and multivariate regression analysis was used to identify predictors of motivational change. Results For physical activity, changes in motivational regulation were fully in line with the tenets of Self Determination Theory and Motivational Interviewing: participants made a shift towards a more autonomous type of motivation (i.e. controlled types of motivation decreased and autonomous types increased). Moreover, an autonomy supportive coaching style was generally found to predict a larger shift in autonomous types of motivation. For healthy dietary behaviour, however, except for a small decrease in external motivation, no favourable changes in different types of motivation were observed. The

  9. Food Habits, Lifestyle Factors and Mortality among Oldest Old Chinese: The Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS).

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    Shi, Zumin; Zhang, Tuohong; Byles, Julie; Martin, Sean; Avery, Jodie C; Taylor, Anne W

    2015-09-09

    There are few studies reporting the association between lifestyle and mortality among the oldest old in developing countries. We examined the association between food habits, lifestyle factors and all-cause mortality in the oldest old (≥80 years) using data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS). In 1998/99, 8959 participants aged 80 years and older took part in the baseline survey. Follow-up surveys were conducted every two to three years until 2011. Food habits were assessed using an in-person interview. Deaths were ascertained from family members during follow-up. Cox and Laplace regression were used to assess the association between food habits, lifestyle factors and mortality risk. There were 6626 deaths during 31,926 person-years of follow-up. Type of staple food (rice or wheat) was not associated with mortality. Daily fruit and vegetable intake was inversely associated with a higher mortality risk (hazard ratios (HRs): 0.85 (95% CI (confidence interval) 0.77-0.92), and 0.74 (0.66-0.83) for daily intake of fruit and vegetables, respectively). There was a positive association between intake of salt-preserved vegetables and mortality risk (consumers had about 10% increase of HR for mortality). Fruit and vegetable consumption were inversely, while intake of salt-preserved vegetables positively, associated with mortality risk among the oldest old. Undertaking physical activity is beneficial for the prevention of premature death.

  10. Food Habits, Lifestyle Factors and Mortality among Oldest Old Chinese: The Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zumin Shi

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available There are few studies reporting the association between lifestyle and mortality among the oldest old in developing countries. We examined the association between food habits, lifestyle factors and all-cause mortality in the oldest old (≥80 years using data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS. In 1998/99, 8959 participants aged 80 years and older took part in the baseline survey. Follow-up surveys were conducted every two to three years until 2011. Food habits were assessed using an in-person interview. Deaths were ascertained from family members during follow-up. Cox and Laplace regression were used to assess the association between food habits, lifestyle factors and mortality risk. There were 6626 deaths during 31,926 person-years of follow-up. Type of staple food (rice or wheat was not associated with mortality. Daily fruit and vegetable intake was inversely associated with a higher mortality risk (hazard ratios (HRs: 0.85 (95% CI (confidence interval 0.77–0.92, and 0.74 (0.66–0.83 for daily intake of fruit and vegetables, respectively. There was a positive association between intake of salt-preserved vegetables and mortality risk (consumers had about 10% increase of HR for mortality. Fruit and vegetable consumption were inversely, while intake of salt-preserved vegetables positively, associated with mortality risk among the oldest old. Undertaking physical activity is beneficial for the prevention of premature death.

  11. Screening for unhealthy lifestyle factors in the workplace.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richmond, R; Wodak, A; Bourne, S; Heather, N

    1998-01-01

    To examine (1) the prevalence of four lifestyle behaviours among Australia Post employees and (2) employees' perceptions of the role of the workplace in promotion of lifestyle change. A cross-sectional survey using a self-administered questionnaire involved 688 employees working in Australia Post throughout metropolitan Sydney. Prevalence related to age and sex of alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, inadequate exercise, perception of excessive weight. 36% of men and 11% of women reported drinking alcohol at levels considered hazardous or harmful; 33% of men and 25% of women reported smoking; 51% of men and 62% of women thought they were overweight; 30% of men and 39% of women did not exercise regularly. Younger respondents were more likely to report drinking hazardously or harmfully, were smokers and had multiple risk factors. A majority of respondents thought that their employer should be interested in employee's lifestyle issues, particularly excessive drinking (63%). However, few considered seeking advice from the workplace regarding smoking (16%), weight (25%) and excessive alcohol consumption (12%). These results show that many of Australia Post employees have unhealthy lifestyle behaviours. While employees perceive that the workplace has an important role in promoting healthy lifestyles among staff, few are presently willing to seek advice from the workplace regarding these issues. Promotion of healthy lifestyles in Australian workplaces is a potentially important public health advance that could reduce the incidence of diseases associated with high-risk lifestyle behaviours.

  12. Job strain and health-related lifestyle: findings from an individual-participant meta-analysis of 118,000 working adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heikkilä, Katriina; Fransson, Eleonor I; Nyberg, Solja T; Zins, Marie; Westerlund, Hugo; Westerholm, Peter; Virtanen, Marianna; Vahtera, Jussi; Suominen, Sakari; Steptoe, Andrew; Salo, Paula; Pentti, Jaana; Oksanen, Tuula; Nordin, Maria; Marmot, Michael G; Lunau, Thorsten; Ladwig, Karl-Heinz; Koskenvuo, Markku; Knutsson, Anders; Kittel, France; Jöckel, Karl-Heinz; Goldberg, Marcel; Erbel, Raimund; Dragano, Nico; DeBacquer, Dirk; Clays, Els; Casini, Annalisa; Alfredsson, Lars; Ferrie, Jane E; Singh-Manoux, Archana; Batty, G David; Kivimäki, Mika

    2013-11-01

    We examined the associations of job strain, an indicator of work-related stress, with overall unhealthy and healthy lifestyles. We conducted a meta-analysis of individual-level data from 11 European studies (cross-sectional data: n = 118,701; longitudinal data: n = 43,971). We analyzed job strain as a set of binary (job strain vs no job strain) and categorical (high job strain, active job, passive job, and low job strain) variables. Factors used to define healthy and unhealthy lifestyles were body mass index, smoking, alcohol intake, and leisure-time physical activity. Individuals with job strain were more likely than those with no job strain to have 4 unhealthy lifestyle factors (odds ratio [OR] = 1.25; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.12, 1.39) and less likely to have 4 healthy lifestyle factors (OR = 0.89; 95% CI = 0.80, 0.99). The odds of adopting a healthy lifestyle during study follow-up were lower among individuals with high job strain than among those with low job strain (OR = 0.88; 95% CI = 0.81, 0.96). Work-related stress is associated with unhealthy lifestyles and the absence of stress is associated with healthy lifestyles, but longitudinal analyses suggest no straightforward cause-effect relationship between work-related stress and lifestyle.

  13. Do statin users adhere to a healthy diet and lifestyle? The Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johal, Simran; Jamsen, Kris M; Bell, J Simon; Mc Namara, Kevin P; Magliano, Dianna J; Liew, Danny; Ryan-Atwood, Taliesin E; Anderson, Claire; Ilomäki, Jenni

    2017-04-01

    Background Lifestyle and dietary advice typically precedes or accompanies the prescription of statin medications. However, evidence for adherence to this advice is sparse. The objective was to compare saturated fat intake, exercise, alcohol consumption and smoking between statin users and non-users in Australia. Methods Data were analysed for 4614 participants aged ≥37 years in the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle study in 2011-2012. Statin use, smoking status and physical activity were self-reported. Saturated fat and alcohol intake were measured via a food frequency questionnaire. Multinomial logistic regression was used to compute adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the associations between statin use and the four lifestyle factors. All models were adjusted for age, sex, education, number of general practitioner visits, body mass index, hypertension, diabetes and prior cardiovascular diseases. Results In total 1108 (24%) participants used a statin. Statin users were 29% less likely to be within the highest quartile versus the lowest quartile of daily saturated fat intake compared to non-users (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.54-0.94). There were no statistically significant associations between statin use and smoking, physical activity or alcohol consumption. Conclusions Smoking status, alcohol consumption and exercise level did not differ between users and non-users of statins. However, statin users were less likely to consume high levels of saturated fat than non-users. We found no evidence that people took statins to compensate for a poor diet or lifestyle.

  14. NUTRITION AND FITNESS (PART 2: MENTAL HEALTH, AGING, AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A HEALTHY DIET AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LIFESTYLE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Artemis P. Simopoulos

    2005-12-01

    Full Text Available The proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Nutrition and Fitness held in Athens, Greece, on June 91-2, 2004 are presented in the book as a second volume of the series. The objectives of the book are to review/discuss the latest information on nutrition and fitness by taking into consideration i mental health, ii psychiatric disorders, iii menopause, iv osteoporosis, v aging and vi healthy diet. The book also discusses the role of government in implementing a healthy diet and physical activity lifestyle. FEATURES A common, uniform strategy and evidence-based approach to organizing and interpreting the literature is used in all chapters. This textbook is composed of four parts with sub-sections in all of them. The topics of the parts are: i Mental Health, ii Aging, Osteoporosis and Physical Activity, iii Defining the Components of a Healthy Diet and Physical Activity for Health and iv The Role of Government in Implementing a Healthy Diet and Physical Activity Lifestyle. In each specific chapter, an epidemiological picture has been systematically developed from the data available in prospective, retrospective, case-control, and cross-sectional studies. The tables and figures are numerous, helpful and very useful. AUDIENCE The book provides a very useful resource for researchers, psychiatrists, nutritionists, exercise physiologists, geneticists, dietitians, food scientists, policy makers in government, private food industry and healthcare professionals in the fields of social and preventive medicine, geriatrics, public health, sports medicine. The readers are going to discover that this is an excellent reference book. ASSESSMENT This book is almost a compulsory reading for anyone interested in nutrition, metabolism, social and preventive medicine, clinical nutrition, diabetics, genetics, obesity, public health, aging and osteoporosis, psychiatric disorders and sports medicine and for those wishing to run comprehensive research in this

  15. Exploring the diet and lifestyle changes contributing to weight gain among Australian West African women following migration: A qualitative study.

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    Babatunde-Sowole, Olutoyin O; Power, Tamara; Davidson, Patricia; Ballard, Charlotte; Jackson, Debra

    2018-04-10

    This paper reports on women's experiences of weight gain and obesity as they became acculturated to the Australian diet and lifestyle. Migrants from sub-Saharan Africa have a much higher risk of obesity than the native population when settling in industrialised countries. Qualitative. Women in this study reported weight gain post-migration. This was attributed to increased access to a wide variety of food including takeaway food and more sedentary lifestyles. Obesity has long-term consequences for health and well-being. Further research is needed to support a healthy transition to life in Australia. Gaining insight into the underlying reasons that West African immigrants to Australia become obese could contribute to assisting health professionals design culturally appropriate interventions and health education programmes to support new arrivals.

  16. Genes and life-style factors in BELFAST nonagenarians: Nature, Nurture and Narrative.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rea, Jennifer Nicola M; Carvalho, Ashley; McNerlan, Susan E; Alexander, H Denis; Rea, Irene Maeve

    2015-10-01

    Understanding how to 'Age Longer and Age Well' is a priority for people personally, for populations globally and for government policy. Nonagenarians are the oldest members of our societies and survivors of their generation. Approximately 10 % of nonagenarians reach 90 years and beyond in good condition and seem to have a combination of both age-span and health-span. But what are the factors which help people reach their ninetieth birthday and beyond in good condition? Are they genetics, as in 'nature', or do they depend on 'nurture' and are related to environment, or are both factors inextricably intertwined within the concept of behavioural genetics? Nonagenarians have rich life experiences that can teach us much about ageing well; they are reservoirs of genetic, life-style and behavioural information which can help dissect out how to live not only longer but better. Personal family history and narrative are powerful tools that help to determine familial traits, beliefs and social behaviours and when used in parallel with new biotechnology methods inform and elaborate causality. Here we present themes and insights from personal narrative enquiry from nonagenarian participants from the Belfast Elderly Longitudinal Free-living Ageing STudy (BELFAST) about factors they consider important for good quality ageing and relate these insights to the emerging genetics and life-style evidence associated with healthy longevity.

  17. Nurses' health promoting lifestyle behaviors in a community hospital.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurnat-Thoma, Emma; El-Banna, Majeda; Oakcrum, Monica; Tyroler, Jill

    2017-06-01

    To examine nurses' health-promoting lifestyle behaviors, describe their self-reported engagement in employee wellness program benefit options, and explore relationships between nurse demographic factors, health characteristics and lifestyle behaviors. Nurses adopting unhealthy lifestyle behaviors are at significantly higher risk for developing a number of chronic diseases and are at increased susceptibility to exhaustion, job dissatisfaction and turnover. Strengthening professional nurses' abilities to engage in healthy lifestyle behaviors could serve as a valuable tool in combating negative workplace stress, promote improved work-life balance and personal well-being, and help retain qualified health-care providers. In a 187-bed community hospital in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, we conducted an IRB-approved exploratory descriptive study. We examined 127 nurses' demographic characteristics, self-reported employer wellness program use, and measured their healthy lifestyle behaviors using the 52-item Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile-II (HPLP-II) survey instrument. Nurse demographic and HPLP-II scores were analyzed in SPSS v20.0. Inferential univariate statistical testing examined relationships between nurse demographic factors, health and job characteristics, and HPLP-II score outcomes. Nurses over 40years old were more likely to report participation in hospital wellness program options. Statistically significant age differences were identified in total HPLP-II score (p=0.005), and two subscale scores-spiritual growth (p=0.002) and interpersonal relations (p=0.000). Post-hoc testing identified nurse participants 40-49years old and ≥50years old experienced slightly lower total HPLP-II score, subscale scores in comparison to younger colleagues. Nurses ≥40years old may benefit from additional employer support and guidance to promote and maintain healthy lifestyles, personal well-being, and positive interpersonal relationships. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier

  18. Healthy Lifestyle Fitness Camp: A Summer Approach to Prevent Obesity in Low-Income Youth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    George, Gretchen Lynn; Schneider, Constance; Kaiser, Lucia

    2016-03-01

    To examine the effect of participation in a summer camp focused on nutrition and fitness among low-income youth. In 2011-2012, overweight and obese youth (n = 126) from Fresno, CA participated in a free 6-week summer program, Healthy Lifestyle Fitness Camp (HLFC), which included 3 h/wk of nutrition education provided by University of California CalFresh and 3 hours of daily physical activity through Fresno Parks and Recreation. The researchers used repeated-measures ANOVA to examine changes in weight, waist circumference, and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) between HLFC and the comparison group (n = 29). Significant pre-post WHtR reductions were observed in HLFC: 0.64 to 0.61 (P obesity prevention among low-income youth. Copyright © 2016 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Associations of psychosocial factors with pregnancy healthy life styles.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shabnam Omidvar

    Full Text Available Healthy behaviors in pregnant women have a major effect on pregnancy outcomes; however, only few studies have explored the relationship of multiple psychosocial factors with healthy lifestyles during pregnancy. The objective of this study was to investigate whether the five psychosocial factors of anxiety, stress, depression, marital dissatisfaction, and social support are associated with six domains of healthy lifestyles in pregnant women, including nutrition, physical activity, health responsibility, stress management, interpersonal relationships, and self-actualization. In this cross-sectional study, 445 pregnant women from the obstetrics clinics of the teaching hospitals of Babol University of Medical Sciences were included. The subjects answered six questionnaires, including the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile, Beck Depression Inventory, Prenatal Distress Questionnaire, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Social Support Questionnaire, and Marital Satisfaction Scale. We developed a series of simple linear regression models based on each subscale of lifestyle (nutrition, physical activity, health responsibility, stress management, interpersonal relationships, and self-actualization as the dependent variables and the five psychological variables (anxiety, stress, depression, marital dissatisfaction, and social support as the independent variables. State and trait anxieties were the strongest negative predictors of all aspects of a healthy lifestyle. Furthermore, depression was negatively associated with all of the six subscales of a healthy lifestyle. Pregnancy-specific stress was the only negative predictor of stress management and self-actualization. Marital dissatisfaction was negatively associated with nutrition, stress management, health responsibility, and self-actualization. Social support had negative and positive associations with healthy behaviors. The study suggests that more attention should be paid to identifying the psychological

  20. Associations of psychosocial factors with pregnancy healthy life styles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hajian-Tilak, Karimallah; Nasiri Amiri, Fatemeh

    2018-01-01

    Healthy behaviors in pregnant women have a major effect on pregnancy outcomes; however, only few studies have explored the relationship of multiple psychosocial factors with healthy lifestyles during pregnancy. The objective of this study was to investigate whether the five psychosocial factors of anxiety, stress, depression, marital dissatisfaction, and social support are associated with six domains of healthy lifestyles in pregnant women, including nutrition, physical activity, health responsibility, stress management, interpersonal relationships, and self-actualization. In this cross-sectional study, 445 pregnant women from the obstetrics clinics of the teaching hospitals of Babol University of Medical Sciences were included. The subjects answered six questionnaires, including the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile, Beck Depression Inventory, Prenatal Distress Questionnaire, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Social Support Questionnaire, and Marital Satisfaction Scale. We developed a series of simple linear regression models based on each subscale of lifestyle (nutrition, physical activity, health responsibility, stress management, interpersonal relationships, and self-actualization) as the dependent variables and the five psychological variables (anxiety, stress, depression, marital dissatisfaction, and social support) as the independent variables. State and trait anxieties were the strongest negative predictors of all aspects of a healthy lifestyle. Furthermore, depression was negatively associated with all of the six subscales of a healthy lifestyle. Pregnancy-specific stress was the only negative predictor of stress management and self-actualization. Marital dissatisfaction was negatively associated with nutrition, stress management, health responsibility, and self-actualization. Social support had negative and positive associations with healthy behaviors. The study suggests that more attention should be paid to identifying the psychological risk factors in

  1. Aim For a Healthy Weight

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... out of your control, you can make positive lifestyle changes to lose weight and to maintain a healthy weight. These include a healthy eating plan and being more physically active. Take the Challenge When it comes to aiming for a healthy ...

  2. Motivations for health and their associations with lifestyle, work style, health, vitality, and employee productivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Scheppingen, Arjella R; de Vroome, Ernest M M; ten Have, Kristin C J M; Zwetsloot, Gerard I J M; Bos, Ellen H; van Mechelen, Willem

    2014-05-01

    Investigate employees' underlying motivational regulatory styles toward healthy living and their associations with lifestyle, work style, health, vitality, and productivity. Regression analyses on cross-sectional data from Dutch employees (n = 629), obtained as baseline measurement before a workplace health promotion project. Controlled regulation was not associated with smoking and alcohol use, and negatively associated with physical activity, healthy dietary habits, relaxation, and a balanced work style. Autonomous regulation was positively associated with physical activity, healthy dietary habits, and relaxation, and negatively associated with smoking and alcohol use. Healthy lifestyle and work style were associated with perceived health and vitality, which in turn were associated with employees' productivity (absenteeism and presenteeism). Internalization of the value of health is important to promote a healthy lifestyle and work style among employees, and has meaningful business implications.

  3. Knowledge, attitude and practice regarding lifestyle modification in type 2 diabetic patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Henry I. Okonta

    2014-12-01

    Conclusion: Despite the positive attitudes of respondents toward healthy lifestyle modifications, the knowledge and practice regarding lifestyle modifications amongst type 2 diabetes mellitus participants seen at Mamelodi hospital were generally poor.

  4. Integration of BCTs in a Companion App to Support and Motivate Teenagers in the Adoption of Healthy Lifestyle Behaviours

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura Condon

    2015-10-01

    Findings show that acceptability and desirability of Smart Companion App functions operationalising BCTs relating to aspects of motivation, increased self-efficacy, feedback on outcomes, incentives, prompts/cues, goal setting, self-monitoring, and information about health consequences. Results from further testing iterations over the next year will refine the PEGASO system functions and facilitate wider roll-out to allow cross-cultural exploration of the Behaviour Change Wheel and COM-B model (Michie et al 2011 as intervention design tools for healthy lifestyle behaviour change interventions in teenagers across Europe.

  5. Understanding How Participants Become Champions and Succeed in Adopting Healthy Lifestyles: A Storytelling of a Community Health and Nutrition Program at a Land-Grant University

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keo, Phalla Duong

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate and understand the experiences of participants who become champions and succeed in adopting healthy lifestyles. The setting was a health and nutrition educational program at University of Minnesota Extension. The main research questions were: How do participants in the Community Health Education Program…

  6. Job Strain and Health-Related Lifestyle: Findings From an Individual-Participant Meta-Analysis of 118 000 Working Adults

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heikkilä, Katriina; Fransson, Eleonor I.; Nyberg, Solja T.; Zins, Marie; Westerlund, Hugo; Westerholm, Peter; Virtanen, Marianna; Vahtera, Jussi; Suominen, Sakari; Steptoe, Andrew; Salo, Paula; Pentti, Jaana; Oksanen, Tuula; Nordin, Maria; Marmot, Michael G.; Lunau, Thorsten; Ladwig, Karl-Heinz; Koskenvuo, Markku; Knutsson, Anders; Kittel, France; Jöckel, Karl-Heinz; Goldberg, Marcel; Erbel, Raimund; Dragano, Nico; DeBacquer, Dirk; Clays, Els; Casini, Annalisa; Alfredsson, Lars; Ferrie, Jane E.; Singh-Manoux, Archana; Batty, G. David; Kivimäki, Mika

    2013-01-01

    Objectives. We examined the associations of job strain, an indicator of work-related stress, with overall unhealthy and healthy lifestyles. Methods. We conducted a meta-analysis of individual-level data from 11 European studies (cross-sectional data: n = 118 701; longitudinal data: n = 43 971). We analyzed job strain as a set of binary (job strain vs no job strain) and categorical (high job strain, active job, passive job, and low job strain) variables. Factors used to define healthy and unhealthy lifestyles were body mass index, smoking, alcohol intake, and leisure-time physical activity. Results. Individuals with job strain were more likely than those with no job strain to have 4 unhealthy lifestyle factors (odds ratio [OR] = 1.25; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.12, 1.39) and less likely to have 4 healthy lifestyle factors (OR = 0.89; 95% CI = 0.80, 0.99). The odds of adopting a healthy lifestyle during study follow-up were lower among individuals with high job strain than among those with low job strain (OR = 0.88; 95% CI = 0.81, 0.96). Conclusions. Work-related stress is associated with unhealthy lifestyles and the absence of stress is associated with healthy lifestyles, but longitudinal analyses suggest no straightforward cause–effect relationship between work-related stress and lifestyle. PMID:23678931

  7. Health education in self-help groups to promote healthy lifestyles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bruno López de la Vega

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available In this review we discuss the formation of self-help groups (GAM in order to help to counteract diseases, illnesses or conditions assertively, effective and above all positive, this in order to integrate health education in its multidisciplinary approach to create GAM that provide viable alternatives to modify unhealthy lifestyles or unhealthy. It is important the introduction of health education in the creation and sustenance of the same, as it provides a different perspective on the implementation of plans, programs and projects open to meet learning needs and changes in lifestyle with the help of support networks and psycho-emotional aspects intervention, which aims to achieve stability at individual and collective level.

  8. Cost-effectiveness analysis of lifestyle intervention in obese infertile women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Oers, A M; Mutsaerts, M A Q; Burggraaff, J M; Kuchenbecker, W K H; Perquin, D A M; Koks, C A M; van Golde, R; Kaaijk, E M; Schierbeek, J M; Klijn, N F; van Kasteren, Y M; Land, J A; Mol, B W J; Hoek, A; Groen, H

    2017-07-01

    What is the cost-effectiveness of lifestyle intervention preceding infertility treatment in obese infertile women? Lifestyle intervention preceding infertility treatment as compared to prompt infertility treatment in obese infertile women is not a cost-effective strategy in terms of healthy live birth rate within 24 months after randomization, but is more likely to be cost-effective using a longer follow-up period and live birth rate as endpoint. In infertile couples, obesity decreases conception chances. We previously showed that lifestyle intervention prior to infertility treatment in obese infertile women did not increase the healthy singleton vaginal live birth rate at term, but increased natural conceptions, especially in anovulatory women. Cost-effectiveness analyses could provide relevant additional information to guide decisions regarding offering a lifestyle intervention to obese infertile women. The cost-effectiveness of lifestyle intervention preceding infertility treatment compared to prompt infertility treatment was evaluated based on data of a previous RCT, the LIFEstyle study. The primary outcome for effectiveness was the vaginal birth of a healthy singleton at term within 24 months after randomization (the healthy live birth rate). The economic evaluation was performed from a hospital perspective and included direct medical costs of the lifestyle intervention, infertility treatments, medication and pregnancy in the intervention and control group. In addition, we performed exploratory cost-effectiveness analyses of scenarios with additional effectiveness outcomes (overall live birth within 24 months and overall live birth conceived within 24 months) and of subgroups, i.e. of ovulatory and anovulatory women, women birth rates were 27 and 35% in the intervention group and the control group, respectively (effect difference of -8.1%, P birth rate. Mean costs per healthy live birth event were €15 932 in the intervention group and €15 912 in the

  9. Association between lifestyle factors and quality-adjusted life years in the EPIC-NL cohort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fransen, Heidi P; May, Anne M; Beulens, Joline W J; Struijk, Ellen A; de Wit, G Ardine; Boer, Jolanda M A; Onland-Moret, N Charlotte; Hoekstra, Jeljer; van der Schouw, Yvonne T; Bueno-de-Mesquita, H Bas; Peeters, Petra H M

    2014-01-01

    The aim of our study was to relate four modifiable lifestyle factors (smoking status, body mass index, physical activity and diet) to health expectancy, using quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) in a prospective cohort study. Data of the prospective EPIC-NL study were used, including 33,066 healthy men and women aged 20-70 years at baseline (1993-7), followed until 31-12-2007 for occurrence of disease and death. Smoking status, body mass index, physical activity and adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet (excluding alcohol) were investigated separately and combined into a healthy lifestyle score, ranging from 0 to 4. QALYs were used as summary measure of healthy life expectancy, combining a person's life expectancy with a weight for quality of life when having a chronic disease. For lifestyle factors analyzed separately the number of years living longer in good health varied from 0.12 year to 0.84 year, after adjusting for covariates. A combination of the four lifestyle factors was positively associated with higher QALYs (P-trend healthy lifestyle score of 4 compared to a score of 0 was associated with almost a 2 years longer life in good health (1.75 QALYs [95% CI 1.37, 2.14]).

  10. Associations of job strain and lifestyle risk factors with risk of coronary artery disease: a meta-analysis of individual participant data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kivimäki, Mika; Nyberg, Solja T; Fransson, Eleonor I; Heikkilä, Katriina; Alfredsson, Lars; Casini, Annalisa; Clays, Els; De Bacquer, Dirk; Dragano, Nico; Ferrie, Jane E; Goldberg, Marcel; Hamer, Mark; Jokela, Markus; Karasek, Robert; Kittel, France; Knutsson, Anders; Koskenvuo, Markku; Nordin, Maria; Oksanen, Tuula; Pentti, Jaana; Rugulies, Reiner; Salo, Paula; Siegrist, Johannes; Suominen, Sakari B; Theorell, Töres; Vahtera, Jussi; Virtanen, Marianna; Westerholm, Peter J M; Westerlund, Hugo; Zins, Marie; Steptoe, Andrew; Singh-Manoux, Archana; Batty, G David

    2013-06-11

    It is unclear whether a healthy lifestyle mitigates the adverse effects of job strain on coronary artery disease. We examined the associations of job strain and lifestyle risk factors with the risk of coronary artery disease. We pooled individual-level data from 7 cohort studies comprising 102 128 men and women who were free of existing coronary artery disease at baseline (1985-2000). Questionnaires were used to measure job strain (yes v. no) and 4 lifestyle risk factors: current smoking, physical inactivity, heavy drinking and obesity. We grouped participants into 3 lifestyle categories: healthy (no lifestyle risk factors), moderately unhealthy (1 risk factor) and unhealthy (2-4 risk factors). The primary outcome was incident coronary artery disease (defined as first nonfatal myocardial infarction or cardiac-related death). There were 1086 incident events in 743,948 person-years at risk during a mean follow-up of 7.3 years. The risk of coronary artery disease among people who had an unhealthy lifestyle compared with those who had a healthy lifestyle (hazard ratio [HR] 2.55, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.18-2.98; population attributable risk 26.4%) was higher than the risk among participants who had job strain compared with those who had no job strain (HR 1.25, 95% CI 1.06-1.47; population attributable risk 3.8%). The 10-year incidence of coronary artery disease among participants with job strain and a healthy lifestyle (14.7 per 1000) was 53% lower than the incidence among those with job strain and an unhealthy lifestyle (31.2 per 1000). The risk of coronary artery disease was highest among participants who reported job strain and an unhealthy lifestyle; those with job strain and a healthy lifestyle had half the rate of disease. A healthy lifestyle may substantially reduce disease risk among people with job strain.

  11. Health Status and Lifestyle Habits of US Medical Students: A ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background: Evidence shows that physicians and medical students who engage in healthy lifestyle habits are more likely to counsel patients about such behaviors. Yet medical school is a challenging time that may bring about undesired changes to health and lifestyle habits. Aims: This study assessed changes in students' ...

  12. Healthy Habits Can Lengthen Life

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... 2018 Print this issue Health Capsule Healthy Habits Can Lengthen Life Send us your comments Physical activity is one of five healthy lifestyle factors that can lower your risk for several diseases and lengthen ...

  13. The COPE healthy lifestyles TEEN randomized controlled trial with culturally diverse high school adolescents: Baseline characteristics and methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melnyk, Bernadette Mazurek; Kelly, Stephanie; Jacobson, Diana; Belyea, Michael; Shaibi, Gabriel; Small, Leigh; O’Haver, Judith; Marsiglia, Flavio Francisco

    2014-01-01

    Obesity and mental health disorders remain significant public health problems in adolescents. Substantial health disparities exist with minority youth experiencing higher rates of these problems. Schools are an outstanding venue to provide teens with skills needed to improve their physical and mental health, and academic performance. In this paper, the authors describe the design, intervention, methods and baseline data for a randomized controlled trial with 779 culturally diverse high-school adolescents in the southwest United States. Aims for this prevention study include testing the efficacy of the COPE TEEN program versus an attention control program on the adolescents’ healthy lifestyle behaviors, Body Mass Index (BMI) and BMI%, mental health, social skills and academic performance immediately following the intervention programs, and at six and 12 months post interventions. Baseline findings indicate that greater than 40% of the sample is either overweight (n = 148, 19.00%) or obese (n = 182, 23.36%). The predominant ethnicity represented is Hispanic (n = 526, 67.52%). At baseline, 15.79%(n = 123) of the students had above average scores on the Beck Youth Inventory Depression subscale indicating mildly (n = 52, 6.68%), moderately (n = 47, 6.03%), or extremely (n = 24, 3.08%) elevated scores (see 1). Anxiety scores were slightly higher with 21.56% (n = 168) reporting responses suggesting mildly (n = 81, 10.40%), moderately (n = 58, 7.45%) or extremely (n = 29, 3.72%) elevated scores. If the efficacy of the COPE TEEN program is supported, it will offer schools a curriculum that can be easily incorporated into high school health courses to improve adolescent healthy lifestyle behaviors, psychosocial outcomes and academic performance. PMID:23748156

  14. Testing relationships between values and food-related lifestyle:

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brunsø, Karen; Scholderer, Joachim; Grunert, Klaus G.

    2004-01-01

    The value survey developed by Shalom Schwartz (1992) has been applied in many countries with different purposes. In this study we present a new way of analysing the theoretically assumed circumplex structure of Schwartz value survey and its relationships to other constructs, here the instrument...... food-related lifestyle. In two countries; Germany and Spain, data were collected. In each country 1000 interviews were carried out where consumers were asked about their value priorities and about their food-related lifestyle. The study provides new insights into the way values influence peoples' food......-related lifestyle in Germany and Spain, and the results validate both the Schwartz value survey and the food-related lifestyle instrument in a nomological sense, since significant and meaningful relationships were found between the two constructs....

  15. No modifying effect of education level on the association between lifestyle behaviors and cardiovascular mortality: the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eguchi, Eri; Iso, Hiroyasu; Honjo, Kaori; Yatsuya, Hiroshi; Tamakoshi, Akiko

    2017-01-01

    We examined the effect of education level on the association between healthy lifestyle behaviors and cardiovascular mortality in the Japanese population. A total of 42,647 community-based men and women aged 40–79 years were enrolled at baseline (1988–1990), followed through 2009. The components of the healthy lifestyle score included the intake of fruits, fish, and milk; body mass index; exercise; avoidance of smoking; moderate alcohol intake; and moderate sleep duration. During the 19.3 years of follow-up, 8,314 all-cause and 2,377 total cardiovascular mortality cases were noted. Inverse associations were observed between healthy lifestyle scores and total cardiovascular disease (CVD) for both the lower and higher education level groups. Multivariable hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) for CVD mortality from the highest to the lowest healthy lifestyle scores, and the population attributable fraction (95% CIs) without healthy lifestyle scores of 7–8 were 0.51 (0.33–0.52) and 42% (24–58%), and 0.38 (0.27–0.47) and 55% (36–69%) for the higher and lower education levels, respectively. Our findings suggest that the association between higher CVD mortality and lower education level can be explained by the individuals’ lower adherence to a healthy lifestyle; hence, lifestyle modification would be beneficial for the prevention of cardiovascular mortality, irrespective of the education level. PMID:28057921

  16. Ready, set, go! Motivation and lifestyle habits in parents of children referred for obesity management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maximova, K; Ambler, K A; Rudko, J N; Chui, N; Ball, G D C

    2015-10-01

    Parents play a fundamental role in helping children with obesity to make and maintain healthy lifestyle changes. This study aimed to characterize stages of engagement to change nutrition and physical activity habits among parents whose children with obesity were enrolled in obesity management and examine differences in parents' own nutrition and physical activity habits according to their stage of engagement. Medical records of 113 children (body mass index [BMI] ≥95th percentile) enrolled in an outpatient weight management clinic were reviewed for baseline (cross-sectional) data. Parents completed the Weight Loss Behavior-Stage of Change Scale to assess the degree of engagement in making healthy changes to their lifestyle behaviours. Latent class analysis was used to classify parents into distinct clusters by grouping individuals with similar ratings of stages of engagement regarding nutrition- and physical activity-related behaviours. Parents' engagement in healthy lifestyle behaviours varied (more engaged [n = 43]; less engaged [n = 70]). A greater proportion of parents in the more engaged group was in action and/or maintenance stages of changing their lifestyle habits. The more engaged group was less overweight than the less engaged group (BMI = 28.5 vs. 33.3 kg m(-2); P healthy changes to their lifestyle behaviours, and those categorized as more engaged already demonstrated positive lifestyle behaviours. Information regarding parents' degree of engagement in healthy behaviours can inform clinical recommendations, especially when parents represent the primary agents of change in families trying to manage paediatric obesity. © 2014 World Obesity.

  17. Burnout And Lifestyle Of Principals And Entrepreneurs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jasna Lavrenčič

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Research Question (RQ: What kind of lifestyle do the principals and entrepreneurs lead? Does the lifestyle of principals and entrepreneurs influence burnout? Purpose: To find out, based on the results of a questionnaire, what kind of lifestyle both researched groups lead. Does lifestyle have an influence on the occurrence of the phenomenon of burnout. Method: We used the method of data collection by questionnaire. Acquired data were analyzed using SPSS, descriptive and inference statistics. Results: Results showed, that both groups lead a similar lifestyle and that lifestyle influences burnout with principals, as well as entrepreneurs. Organization: School principals and entrepreneurs are the heads of individual organizations or companies, the goal of which is success. To be successful in their work, they must adapt their lifestyle, which can be healthy or unhealthy. If their lifestyle is unhealthy, it can lead to burnout. Society: With results of the questionnaire we would like to answer the question about the lifestyle of both groups and its influence on the occurrence of burnout. Originality: The study of lifestyle and the occurrence of burnout in these two groups is the first study in this area. Limitations/Future Research: In continuation, research groups could be submitted to the research fields of effort physiology and tracking of certain haematological parameters, such as cholesterol, blood sugar and stress hormones - adrenaline, noradrenalin, cortisol. Thus, we could carry out an even more in depth research of the connection between lifestyle and burnout.

  18. Effects of the Nurse Athlete Program on the Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors, Physical Health, and Mental Well-being of New Graduate Nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hrabe, David P; Melnyk, Bernadette Mazurek; Buck, Jacalyn; Sinnott, Loraine T

    Recognizing that transition from nursing student to point-of-care nurse can be a stressful time period in one's career. A pilot study at a large Midwestern medical center tested the preliminary effects of a health-oriented workshop, the Nurse Athlete, on new graduate nurses' healthy lifestyle beliefs, healthy lifestyle behaviors, depressive and anxiety symptoms, as well as health outcomes. The Nurse Athlete workshop, provided in partnership with Johnson & Johnson's Human Performance Institute (HPI), used materials from HPI's Corporate Athlete program. The 2-day workshop focuses on energy management through a comprehensive examination of goals and values in relation to one's spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical development and provides practical strategies to improve self-care. Eighty-eight new graduate nurses hired at the university's medical center were offered the opportunity to participate in the Nurse Athlete program and associated study. Sixty-nine percent of these new graduate nurses (n = 61) consented and participated in the program. There was a statistically significant decrease in the participants' weight and body mass index from baseline to the 6-month follow-up assessment, which resulted in small to medium positive effects for the Nurse Athlete program. There was also a significant decrease in body fat percentage across time, resulting in a large positive intervention effect. Statistically significant reductions in depressive symptoms were measured between baseline and 6 months.

  19. Study protocol for a systematic review of evidence for lifestyle interventions targeting smoking, sleep, alcohol/other drug use, physical activity, and healthy diet in people with bipolar disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kay-Lambkin, Frances J; Thornton, Louise; Lappin, Julia M; Hanstock, Tanya; Sylvia, Louisa; Jacka, Felice; Baker, Amanda L; Berk, Michal; Mitchell, Phillip B; Callister, Robin; Rogers, Naomi; Webster, Stephanie; Dennis, Simon; Oldmeadow, Christopher; MacKinnon, Andrew; Doran, Christopher; Turner, Alyna; Hunt, Sally

    2016-07-05

    People with bipolar disorder (BD) have a mortality gap of up to 20 years compared to the general population. Physical conditions, such as cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer, cause the majority of excess deaths in psychiatric populations and are the leading causes of mortality in people with BD. However, comparatively little attention has been paid to reducing the risk of physical conditions in psychiatric populations. Unhealthy lifestyle behaviors are among the potentially modifiable risk factors for a range of commonly comorbid chronic medical conditions, including CVD, diabetes, and obesity. This systematic review will identify and evaluate the available evidence for effective interventions to reduce risk and promote healthy lifestyle behaviors in BD. We will search MEDLINE, Embase, PsychINFO, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and CINAHL for published research studies (with at least an abstract published in English) that evaluate behavioral or psychosocial interventions to address the following lifestyle factors in people with BD: tobacco use, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, overweight or obesity, sleep-wake disturbance, and alcohol/other drug use. Primary outcomes for the review will be changes in tobacco use, level of physical activity, diet quality, sleep quality, alcohol use, and illicit drug use. Data on each primary outcome will be synthesized across available studies in that lifestyle area (e.g., tobacco abstinence, cigarettes smoked per day), and panel of research and clinical experts in each of the target lifestyle behaviors and those experienced with clinical and research with individuals with BD will determine how best to represent data related to that primary outcome. Seven members of the systematic review team will extract data, synthesize the evidence, and rate it for quality. Evidence will be synthesized via a narrative description of the behavioral interventions and their effectiveness in improving the healthy lifestyle behaviors

  20. Gender differences in adolescents’ lifestyles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ángel Hernando

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available This research analyzes gender differences observed in different aspects of adolescent lifestyles, such as physical activities and sports, involvement in extracurricular activities, use of ICT’s, time spent with friends and time spent studying, substance use, and sleep-related routines. Bearing this in mind, we analyzed differences by year and gender in a sample of 2400 adolescents, 55.5 percent girls and 44.5 percent of boys, aged between 12 and 17 (mean age =14.73 and SD = 1.24 in 20 schools from Andalusia. The results from correlation analysis, ANOVA, and Tukey test confirm significant correlations between most variables making up lifestyle, most of them positive except those related to substance use (most correlations were negative. We also found significant gender differences in lifestyles: 10 out of the 15 variables analyzed have significant gender differences. A significant negative correlation with age was found in a number of variables making up healthy lifestyles, such as the practice of sport and physical activity, participation in extracurricular activities and sleep.

  1. The general practitioner as lifestyle advisor. A focus group study exploring case story discussions

    OpenAIRE

    Abildsnes, Eirik

    2012-01-01

    Background: GPs have a mandate from society to facilitate their patients to adopt a healthy lifestyle to reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases. GPs consider lifestyle counselling as an important but challenging task, but often choose not to follow clinical guidelines in lifestyle counselling. Power in doctor-patient relationships is asymmetrically distributed. In lifestyle counselling the GP may use power to make the patient change an unhealthy lifestyle. Doctors have ...

  2. Personalized Virtual Coaching for Lifestyle Support: Principles for Design and Evaluation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kulyk, Olga Anatoliyivna; op den Akker, Hendrikus J.A.; Klaassen, Randy; van Gemert-Pijnen, Julia E.W.C.

    2014-01-01

    There is a fast growing number of behavior change support systems (BCSS) aiming at supporting a healthy lifestyle. Existing lifestyle coaching services offer individual users access to web portals where they can communicate about a growing number of ingredients of everyday life concern: physical

  3. Lifestyle practice among Malaysian university students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Naggar, Redhwan Ahmed; Bobryshev, Yuri V; Mohd Noor, Nor Aini Binti

    2013-01-01

    It is well established that a healthy lifestyle is of benefit in the prevention of diseases such as cancer and promotion of well-being. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine lifestyle practice and associated factors among university students in Malaysia. A cross sectional study was conducted over six months from November 2011 until May 2012 among the students from the Management and Science University. This study was approved by its ethical committee , the students being explained the objective and invited to participate. A consent form was signed by all study participants. Questionnaire was distributed randomly to the students of the five faculties through their lecturers in different faculty. For univariate analysis t-test and ANOVA test were performed. Multiple linear regression used for multivariate analysis using SPSS 13.0. A total number of 1100 students participated with a mean age of 22.1±2.21 (SD) years. The majority were 22 years or younger (56.3%), female (54%), Malay (61.5%), single (92.3%), with family monthly income ≥5000 Ringgit Malaysia (41.2%). Regarding lifestyle, about were 31.6% smokers, 75.6% never drank alcohol and 53.7% never exercised. Multivariate analysis showed that age, sex, race, parent marital status, participant marital status, type of faculty, living status, smoking status, exercise, residency, brushing teeth, fiber intake and avoid fatty food significantly influenced the practice of drinking alcohol among university students (p=0.006, p=0.042, pexercise, residency, brushing teeth and fiber intake significantly influenced the practice of sun protection (pexercise, taking non- prescribed medication, brushing the teeth, coffee consumption and fiber intake were significantly influenced the practice of fruits consumption (p=0.008, p<0.001, p<0.001, p<0.001, p<0.001, p<0.001, p<0.001, p<0.001, p=0.002, p<0.001, P<0.001; respectively). This study showed a poor practice of healthy lifestyle among university students

  4. [Associations between health-promoting lifestyle and suboptimal health status in Guangdong: a cross sectional study].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jie-Yu; Yang, Le-Bin; Jiang, Ping-Ping; Sun, Xiao-Min; Yu, Ke-Qiang; Li, Fei; Wu, Sheng-Wei; Ji, Yan-Zhao; Zhao, Xiao-Shan; Luo, Ren

    2016-04-01

    To investigate associations between health-promoting lifestyle and suboptimal health status (SHS) in the population of Guangdong province. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a clustered sample of 24 159 individuals aged 12-80 years from 2012 to 2013. Health-promoting lifestyle was assessed via the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP-II), and SHS was evaluated using the medical examination report and Sub-health Measurement Scale V1.0 (SHMS V1.0). Of the 24159 participants, subjects with SHS (46.0%) and disease status (35.2%) accounted for a much higher percentage than healthy subjects (18.8%). Regression analyses revealed a significant association between health status and healthy lifestyle (PUnhealthy lifestyle was an important risk factor for SHS and disease, especially the former. Compared with the participants with a healthy lifestyle (minimal exposure), after demographic adjustment, subjects with a 'poor' lifestyle (maximal exposure) were at a 43 times higher risk of developing SHS (OR: 42.825, 95% CI: 30.567-59.997), those with a general lifestyle were at a 21 times higher risk of SHS (OR: 21.072, 95%CI: 17.258-25.729), and those with a suboptimal lifestyle had a 4 times higher risk (OR: 4.085, 95%CI: 3.352-4.979). In the general population, the major risk factors for SHS included poor stress management, poor self-actualization, inactive exercise and poor interpersonal relationship. s Unhealthy lifestyles are significantly related to an increased risk of SHS. Intervention of unhealthy lifestyles, controlling the risk factors of SHS, and rigorous management of the time window of SHS are necessary to promote the heath status.

  5. Nutrition and Healthy Eating: Caffeine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Healthy Lifestyle Nutrition and healthy eating By Mayo Clinic Staff If you're like most adults, caffeine is a part of ... US adults: 2001-2010. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2015;101:1081. 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for ...

  6. Psychological Health and Lifestyle Management Preconception and in Pregnancy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, Briony; McPhie, Skye; Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, Matthew; Gillman, Matthew W; Skouteris, Helen

    2016-03-01

    Healthful lifestyles before and during pregnancy are important to facilitate healthy outcomes for mother and baby. For example, behaviors such as a sedentary lifestyle and consuming an energy-dense/nutrient-poor diet increase the risk of overweight/obesity before pregnancy and excessive weight gain during pregnancy, leading to adverse maternal and child health outcomes. Maternal psychopathology may be implicated in the development of suboptimal maternal lifestyle behaviors before and during pregnancy, perhaps through impacts on motivation. This article explores this notion using maternal obesity and excessive gestational weight gain as examples of the health impacts of psychological states. We suggest that factors such as psychological well-being, individual motivation for behavior change, and broader environmental influences that affect both individual and system-wide determinants all play important roles in promoting healthy lifestyles periconception and are key modifiable aspects for intervention designers to consider when trying to improve dietary behaviors and increase physical activity before and during pregnancy. In addition, implementing system-wide changes that impact positively on individual and environmental barriers to behavior change that are sustainable, measureable, and effective is required. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

  7. Caregiver burden and nonachievement of healthy lifestyle behaviors among family caregivers of cardiovascular disease patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mochari-Greenberger, Heidi; Mosca, Lori

    2012-01-01

    To determine whether caregiver burdens are associated with lifestyle behaviors 1 year following the hospitalization of a family member with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Prospective follow-up study of National Heart Lung and Blood Institute sponsored Family Intervention Trial for Heart Health participants. Hospital-based recruitment/baseline visit with 1-year follow-up. Family members of hospitalized CVD patients (N  =  423; 67% female; 36% racial/ethnic minority; mean age 49 years). Systematic evaluation at 1 year to determine heart-healthy diet (defined as caregiver burdens (five domains: employment, financial, physical, social, and time; Caregiver Strain Questionnaire). Logistic regression adjusted for covariates. Heart-healthy diet was less frequent among caregivers citing feeling overwhelmed (odds ratio [OR]  =  .50; 95% confidence interval [CI]  =  .26-.97), sleep disturbance (OR  =  .51; 95% CI  =  .27-.96), financial strain (OR  =  .41; 95% CI  =  .20-.86), upsetting behavior (OR  =  .48; 95% CI  =  .25-.92), and/or time demands (OR  =  .47; 95% CI  =  .26-.85) as burdens. Physical activity was less frequent among caregivers reporting financial strain (OR  =  .32; 95% CI  =  .13-.81) or upsetting patient behavior (OR  =  .33; 95% CI  =  .15-.76) as burdens. The most commonly cited caregiver burdens included changes in personal plans (39%), time demands (38%), and sleep disturbance (30%). Caregiver burdens were associated with nonachievement of heart-healthy diet and physical activity behaviors among family caregivers 1 year after patient discharge. When developing heart-health promotion interventions, caregiver burden should be considered as a possible barrier to prevention among family members of CVD patients.

  8. Lifestyle, mental health status and salivary secretion rates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toda, Masahiro; Morimoto, Kanehisa; Fukuda, Sanae; Hayakawa, Kazuo

    2002-01-01

    The relations between salivary variables, lifestyle and mental health status were investigated for 61 healthy female university students. The salivary secretion rates were significantly higher in the good lifestyle groups compared with the poor lifestyle groups. Among the 8 lifestyle items tested. "eating breakfast" and "mental stress" were significantly related to the salivary secretion rates. The present findings suggest that the acquisition of a good lifestyle is also very important from the viewpoint of the prevention of oral disease.A highly significant correlation (r=0.97; p<0.01) between the salivary cortisol levels and the cortisol secretion rates when controlled for the salivary secretion rates was also observed. This suggests that there is a high correlation between the intact salivary cortisol levels and the total cortisol quantity per unit time. Therefore, both these values can be used as a good index for the salivary cortisol determination.

  9. Dietary patterns and lifestyle : Their determinants and associations with chronic disease burden

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fransen, HP

    2016-01-01

    In this thesis we investigated in a Dutch cohort dietary patterns and other lifestyle habits in relation with disease burden. Our aim was to define the healthiest dietary pattern in the Netherlands and provide insight in the lifestyle factors that are associated with this pattern. Quality Adjusted

  10. Occupational Stress Perception and Healthy Lifestyle in Railroad Workers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iztok Ostan

    2011-05-01

    In general, lifestyle was not confirmed as statistically significant (at 0.05 level moderator of perceived job stress, explaining just 11% of variance. However, there are some dimensions that are significantly (P<0.05 associated with occupational stress: employees that have regular bowel movements, sleep well and evaluate that they do not eat too much perceive their work as less stressful.

  11. Yogurt, diet quality and lifestyle factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panahi, S; Fernandez, M A; Marette, A; Tremblay, A

    2017-05-01

    Yogurt consumption has been associated with healthy dietary patterns and lifestyles, better diet quality and healthier metabolic profiles. Studies have shown that frequent yogurt consumers do not only have higher nutrient intakes, but also an improved diet quality, which includes higher consumption of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and dairy compared with low or non-consumers indicating better compliance with dietary guidelines. Recent epidemiological and clinical evidence suggests that yogurt contributes to better metabolic health because of its effects on the control of body weight, energy homeostasis and glycemic control. Furthermore, yogurt consumers have been shown to be more physically active (⩾ 2 h/week), smoke less, have higher education and knowledge of nutrition compared with non-consumers. Thus, yogurt consumption may be considered a signature of a healthy diet through its nutritional content, impact on metabolic health including the control of energy balance, body weight and glycemia and its relationships with healthier behaviors and lifestyle factors.

  12. The association between changes in lifestyle behaviors and the incidence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in middle-aged and older men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michishita, Ryoma; Matsuda, Takuro; Kawakami, Shotaro; Tanaka, Satoshi; Kiyonaga, Akira; Tanaka, Hiroaki; Morito, Natsumi; Higaki, Yasuki

    2017-08-01

    This study was designed to evaluate whether changes in lifestyle behaviors are correlated with the incidence of chronic kidney disease (CKD). The subjects consisted of 316 men without a history of cardiovascular disease, stroke, or renal dysfunction or dialysis treatment. The following lifestyle behaviors were evaluated using a standardized self-administered questionnaire: habitual moderate exercise, daily physical activity, walking speed, eating speed, late-night dinner, bedtime snacking, skipping breakfast, and drinking and smoking habits. The subjects were divided into four categories according to the change in each lifestyle behavior from baseline to the end of follow-up (healthy-healthy, unhealthy-healthy, healthy-unhealthy and unhealthy-unhealthy). A multivariate analysis showed that, with respect to habitual moderate exercise and late-night dinner, maintaining an unhealthy lifestyle resulted in a significantly higher odds ratio (OR) for the incidence of CKD than maintaining a lifestyle (OR 8.94; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.10-15.40 for habitual moderate exercise and OR 4.00; 95% CI, 1.38-11.57 for late-night dinner). In addition, with respect to bedtime snacking, the change from a healthy to an unhealthy lifestyle and maintaining an unhealthy lifestyle resulted in significantly higher OR for incidence of CKD than maintaining a healthy lifestyle (OR 4.44; 95% CI, 1.05-13.93 for healthy-unhealthy group and OR 11.02; 95% CI, 2.83-26.69 for unhealthy-unhealthy group). The results of the present study suggest that the lack of habitual moderate exercise, late-night dinner, and bedtime snacking may increase the risk of CKD. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Lifestyle Behaviors in Metabolically Healthy and Unhealthy Overweight and Obese Women: A Preliminary Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Camhi, Sarah M; Crouter, Scott E; Hayman, Laura L; Must, Aviva; Lichtenstein, Alice H

    2015-01-01

    Few studies have examined dietary data or objective measures of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior among metabolically healthy overweight/obese (MHO) and metabolically unhealthy overweight/obese (MUO). Thus, the purpose is to determine whether PA, sedentary behavior and/or diet differ between MHO and MUO in a sample of young women. Forty-six overweight/obese (BMI ≥25 kg/m2) African American and Caucasian women 19-35 years were classified by cardiometabolic risk factors, including elevated blood pressure, triglyceride, glucose and C-reactive protein, low high density lipoprotein, and insulin resistance (MUO ≥2; MHO, lifestyle behaviors were tested with linear regression (continuous data) or logistic regression (categorical data) after adjusting for age, race, BMI, smoking and accelerometer wear and/or total kilocalories, as appropriate. Women were 26.7±4.7 years, with a mean BMI of 31.1±3.7 kg/m2, and 61% were African American. Compared to MUO (n = 9), MHO (n = 37; 80%) spent less mins/day in sedentary behavior (difference: -58.1±25.5, p = 0.02), more mins/day in light PA (difference: 38.2±16.1, p = 0.02), and had higher daily METs (difference: 0.21±0.09, p = 0.03). MHO had higher fiber intakes (g/day of total fiber, soluble fiber, fruit/vegetable fiber, bean fiber) and daily servings of vegetables; but lower daily dairy servings, saturated fat, monounsaturated fat and trans fats (g/day) compared to MUO. Compared to MUO, MHO young women demonstrate healthier lifestyle habits with less sedentary behavior, more time in light PA, and healthier dietary quality for fat type and fiber. Future studies are needed to replicate findings with larger samples that include men and women of diverse race/ethnic groups.

  14. Effectiveness of a healthy lifestyle intervention for low back pain and osteoarthritis of the knee: protocol and statistical analysis plan for two randomised controlled trials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kate M. O’Brien

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Background These trials are the first randomised controlled trials of telephone-based weight management and healthy lifestyle interventions for low back pain and knee osteoarthritis. This article describes the protocol and statistical analysis plan. Method These trials are parallel randomised controlled trials that investigate and compare the effect of a telephone-based weight management and healthy lifestyle intervention for improving pain intensity in overweight or obese patients with low back pain or knee osteoarthritis. The analysis plan was finalised prior to initiation of analyses. All data collected as part of the trial were reviewed, without stratification by group, and classified by baseline characteristics, process of care and trial outcomes. Trial outcomes were classified as primary and secondary outcomes. Appropriate descriptive statistics and statistical testing of between-group differences, where relevant, have been planned and described. Conclusions A protocol for standard analyses was developed for the results of two randomised controlled trials. This protocol describes the data, and the pre-determined statistical tests of relevant outcome measures. The plan demonstrates transparent and verifiable use of the data collected. This a priori protocol will be followed to ensure rigorous standards of data analysis are strictly adhered to.

  15. Effectiveness of a healthy lifestyle intervention for low back pain and osteoarthritis of the knee: protocol and statistical analysis plan for two randomised controlled trials

    Science.gov (United States)

    O’Brien, Kate M.; Williams, Amanda; Wiggers, John; Wolfenden, Luke; Yoong, Serene; Campbell, Elizabeth; Kamper, Steven J.; McAuley, James; Attia, John; Oldmeadow, Chris; Williams, Christopher M.

    2016-01-01

    ABSTRACT Background These trials are the first randomised controlled trials of telephone-based weight management and healthy lifestyle interventions for low back pain and knee osteoarthritis. This article describes the protocol and statistical analysis plan. Method These trials are parallel randomised controlled trials that investigate and compare the effect of a telephone-based weight management and healthy lifestyle intervention for improving pain intensity in overweight or obese patients with low back pain or knee osteoarthritis. The analysis plan was finalised prior to initiation of analyses. All data collected as part of the trial were reviewed, without stratification by group, and classified by baseline characteristics, process of care and trial outcomes. Trial outcomes were classified as primary and secondary outcomes. Appropriate descriptive statistics and statistical testing of between-group differences, where relevant, have been planned and described. Conclusions A protocol for standard analyses was developed for the results of two randomised controlled trials. This protocol describes the data, and the pre-determined statistical tests of relevant outcome measures. The plan demonstrates transparent and verifiable use of the data collected. This a priori protocol will be followed to ensure rigorous standards of data analysis are strictly adhered to. PMID:27683839

  16. Formation of University Students' Healthy Lifestyle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biktagirova, Gulnara F.; Kasimova, Ramilya Sh.

    2016-01-01

    Healthy living is one of the most important issues of modern education, especially for students of pedagogical specialties. The article discusses the need for this process, its appropriateness, the study of the problem in psychological and pedagogical literature and presents the results of the pedagogical experiment. The authors reveal the main…

  17. Lifestyle use of drugs by healthy people for enhancing cognition, creativity, motivation and pleasure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    d'Angelo, L-S Camilla; Savulich, George; Sahakian, Barbara J

    2017-10-01

    Today, there is continued, and in some cases growing, availability of not only psychoactive substances, including treatments for mental health disorders such as cognitive enhancers, which can enhance or restore brain function, but also 'recreational' drugs such as novel psychoactive substances (NPS). The use of psychoactive drugs has both benefits and risks: whilst new drugs to treat cognitive symptoms in neuropsychiatric or neurodegenerative disorders could have great benefits for many patient groups, the increasing ease of accessibility to recreational NPS and the increasing lifestyle use of cognitive enhancers by healthy people means that the effective management of psychoactive substances will be an issue of increasing importance. Clearly, the potential benefits of cognitive enhancers are large and increasingly relevant, particularly as the population ages, and for this reason, we should continue to devote resources to the development of cognitive enhancers as treatments for neurodegenerative diseases and psychiatric disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and schizophrenia. However, the increasing use of cognitive enhancers by healthy individuals raises safety, ethical and regulatory concerns, which should not be ignored. Similarly, understanding the short- and long-term consequences of the use of NPS, as well as better understanding the motivations and profiles of users could promote more effective prevention and harm reduction measures. Linked Articles This article is part of a themed section on Pharmacology of Cognition: a Panacea for Neuropsychiatric Disease? To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v174.19/issuetoc. © 2017 The British Pharmacological Society.

  18. Mediterranean Diet: Choose This Heart-Healthy Diet Option

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Lifestyle Nutrition and healthy eating The heart-healthy Mediterranean diet is a healthy eating plan based on typical ... Mediterranean-style cooking. Here's how to adopt the Mediterranean diet. By Mayo Clinic Staff If you're looking ...

  19. The Role of Healthy Lifestyle in the Implementation of Regressing Suboptimal Health Status among College Students in China: A Nested Case-Control Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jieyu Chen

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Background: Suboptimal health status (SHS is the intermediate health state between health and disease, it is medically undiagnosed and is also termed functional somatic syndrome. Although its clinical manifestations are complicated and various, SHS has not reached the disease status. Unhealthy lifestyle is associated with many chronic diseases and mortality. In accordance with the impact of lifestyle on health, it is intriguing to determine the association between unhealthy lifestyle and SHS risk. Methods: We conducted a nested case-control study among healthy Chinese college students from March 2012 to September 2013, which was nested in a prospective cohort of 5676 students. We performed 1:1 incidence density sampling with matched controls for birth year, sex, grade, specialty and individual character. SHS was evaluated using the medical examination report and Sub-health Measurement Scale V1.0 (SHMS V1.0. Exposure was defined as an unhealthy lifestyle per the frequency of six behavioral dimensions from the Health-promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP-II. Results: We matched 543 cases of SHS (42.66% in a cohort of 1273 students during the 1.5 years mean follow-up time with controls. A significant difference (t = 9.79, p < 0.001 and a reduction in HPLP-II total score was present at 1.5 years follow-up (135.93 ± 17.65 compared to baseline (144.48 ± 18.66. A level-response effect was recorded with an increase of the total HPLP-II (every dimension was correlated with a decreased SHS risk. Compared to respondents with the least exposure (excellent level, those reporting a general HPLP-II level were approximately 2.3 times more likely to develop SHS (odd ratio = 2.333, 95% CI = 1.471 to 3.700; and those with less HPLP-II level (good level were approximately 1.6 times more likely (1.644, 1.119–2.414 to develop SHS (p < 0.05. Our data indicated that unhealthy lifestyle behavior with respect to behavioral dimensions significantly affected SHS likelihood

  20. Lifestyle factors and risk of cardiovascular diseases

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoevenaar-Blom, M.P.

    2013-01-01

    Background

    Evidence is accumulating that lifestyle factors influence the incidence of fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular diseases (CVD). A healthy diet, being physically active, moderate alcohol consumption and not smoking are associated with a lower CVD risk. In

  1. Determinants of health-related lifestyle. Comparative study of the functioning of young adults in 2003 and 2013

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ziarko Michał

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Background - Early adulthood is the developmental stage during which, for the first time, an individual can independently choose their own lifestyle. For the future health of a young adult, it is important that they incorporate healthy behaviors from different health dimensions (somatic, mental, social into their lifestyle. Analyzing the foregoing issue gives rise to a fundamental question: did intensive social changes experienced after Poland’s accession to the European Union lead to changes in different aspects of a healthy lifestyle? Method - The presented study involved 504 people. The research data was collected in two separate measurements in 2003 (n = 284 and 2013 (n = 220. Subjects were asked to complete sets of questionnaires which measured: health behaviors, health beliefs, social influence, intention. Results - Statistical comparison of means tests and regression equations were conducted. Results demonstrate that young adults were similarly engaged in pro-health activities in both 2003 and 2013. A detailed analysis of health lifestyle factors shows that young adults from the 2013 group care more about their diet, physical activity, and more frequently undergo preventive medical health examinations. Moreover, significant changes in healthy lifestyle factors were reported. The most important observation concerned the changes in health beliefs. Beliefs derived from a holistic-functional model of health played a major role in the 2003 group, whereas in the 2013 group beliefs close to the biomedical model of health were more important. Conclusions - Analyses demonstrate changes in detailed healthy lifestyle factors. At the same time, no significant differences in global measures of concern for one’s health were observed. Importantly, results show modifications in healthy lifestyle factors. It is suggested that the observed differences stem from the social change of the last decade.

  2. Lifestyle after Cardiac Rehabilitation: Did the Message Come across, and Was It Feasible? An Analysis of Patients’ Narratives

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Knudsen, Marie Veje; Laustsen, Sussie; Petersen, Annemette Krintel

    2014-01-01

    Lifestyle following heart disease is considered important to prevent and reduce cardiovascular risk factors. Thus, cardiac rehabilitation is focused on potential lifestyle changes. Further insight into patients’ perspective on lifestyle after cardiac rehabilitation is needed as changing habits fo...

  3. Key components in ehealth interventions combining self-tracking and persuasive ecoaching to promote a healthier lifestyle: a scoping review

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lentferink, Aniek; Oldenhuis, Hilbrand; de Groot, Martijn; Polstra, Louis; Velthuijsen, Hugo; van Gemert-Pijnen, Lisette

    Background: The combination of self-tracking and persuasive eCoaching in automated interventions is a new and promising approach for healthy lifestyle management. Objective: The aim of this study was to identify key components of self-tracking and persuasive eCoaching in automated healthy lifestyle

  4. Effect of a nine-month web- and app-based workplace intervention to promote healthy lifestyle and weight loss for employees in the social welfare and health care sector

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Balk-Møller, Nina Charlotte; Poulsen, Sanne Kellebjerg; Larsen, Thomas Meinert

    2017-01-01

    Su-life") on employees in the social welfare and health care sector in Denmark. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial was carried out as a workplace intervention. The tool was designed to help users make healthy lifestyle changes such as losing weight, exercise more, and quit smoking. A team competition between...

  5. Assessing the efficacy of the healthy eating and lifestyle programme (HELP compared with enhanced standard care of the obese adolescent in the community: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christie Deborah

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The childhood obesity epidemic is one of the foremost UK health priorities. Childhood obesity tracks into adult life and places individuals at considerable risk for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, liver disease and other morbidities. There is widespread need for paediatric lifestyle programmes as change may be easier to accomplish in childhood than later in life. Study Design/Method The study will evaluate the management of adolescent obesity by conducting a Medical Research Council complex intervention phase III efficacy randomised clinical trial of the Healthy Eating Lifestyle Programme within primary care. The study tests a community delivered multi-component intervention designed for adolescents developed from best practice as identified by National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. The hospital based pilot reduced body mass index and improved health-related quality of life. Subjects will be individually randomised to receiving either the Healthy Eating Lifestyle Programme (12 fortnightly family sessions or enhanced standard care. Baseline and follow up assessments will be undertaken blind to allocation status. A health economic evaluation is also being conducted. 200 obese young people (13-17 years, body mass index > 98th centile for age and sex will be recruited from primary care within the greater London area. The primary hypothesis is that a motivational and solution-focused family-based weight management programme delivered over 6 months is more efficacious in reducing body mass index in obese adolescents identified in the community than enhanced standard care. The primary outcome will be body mass index at the end of the intervention, adjusted for baseline body mass index, age and sex. The secondary hypothesis is that the Healthy Eating Lifestyle Programme is more efficacious in improving quality of life and psychological function and reducing waist circumference and cardiovascular risk factors in

  6. Development of a Healthy Lifestyle Mobile App for Overweight Pregnant Women: Qualitative Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lau, Ying; Cheng, Ling Jie; Chi, Claudia; Tsai, Cammy; Ong, Kai Wen; Ho-Lim, Sarah Su Tin; Wang, Wei; Tan, Kian-Lee

    2018-04-23

    Mobile apps are becoming an increasingly ubiquitous platform for delivery of health behavior interventions among overweight and obese perinatal women. However, only a few methodological guidelines on integrating theory, evidence, and qualitative research for their designs are available. The aim of this study was to develop a theory-based, evidence-driven, and user-centered healthy lifestyle app targeting overweight and obese multiethnic pregnant women. This paper illustrates how intervention development may be enriched with theoretical basis, systematic review, and qualitative study. An individual face-to-face interview was performed to incorporate the user's involvement in the design. These interviews were audiotaped and transcribed. Thematic analysis technique was used for emerging themes. Integrated concepts of social cognitive theory of self-regulation, self-regulation model, and strength model of self-control were selected as bases of the intervention. Evidence from our systematic review and meta-analysis provided the strongest evidence for the development of intervention. We invited 16 obese or overweight pregnant women to participate in a semistructured interview . The following key themes emerged: content, platform, interactivity, format, and functionality. Apps are a favorable technology platform for healthy diet advice, appropriate physical exercise, and weight management because they are user-friendly and convenient. The app used in this study contains culture-specific, pregnancy-related, and credible contents, including educational, professional and peer support, and self-monitoring domains. The design should include aesthetic appeal, visualized features, and interactive multimedia. A 3-step process integrating theoretical basis, evidence from systematic review, and research findings from target users can be considered a guide for future app development. ©Ying Lau, Ling Jie Cheng, Claudia Chi, Cammy Tsai, Kai Wen Ong, Sarah Su Tin Ho-Lim, Wei Wang

  7. Analysis of lifestyle and physical culture and sports of students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ol’ga P. Kokoulina

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The article reviewed the importance and necessity of sport and physical education at the present stage. The article describes the trend of health deterioration of young people as the consequence of a wrong lifestyle, alcohol, tobacco products, narcotic drugs‘use. The reasons of disregard for the healthy lifestyle and the consequences of misuse of the daily routine are presented.The reasons of the emergence and sport development and its history, the analysis of sport nature and physical education in the modern society were also considered in this article. It is shown the necessity and importance of sports and physical education at the present stage of the society development. Some factors that prevent globalization and widespread dissemination of sport and physical culture were introduced. Possible ways of solving these problems were put forward, motivational sphere for the formation of the active position in the field of healthy lifestyle was proposed in the research.

  8. Patient characteristics associated with receipt of lifestyle behavior advice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corsino, Leonor; Svetkey, Laura P; Ayotte, Brian J; Bosworth, Hayden B

    2009-01-01

    Lifestyle behaviors such as reducing weight if overweight or obese, reducing salt intake, exercising, reducing alcohol intake, quitting smoking, and eating a healthy diet are related to the prevention and control of chronic diseases. However the amount of lifestyle advice provided by clinicians has been declining over the last decade. In 2002, a telephone survey was conducted to assess the quality of preventive care offered by health care providers. The study was a cross-sectional observational study of a randomly selected sample of 516 diverse individuals in Durham County, North Carolina. Information regarding age, sex, race, education, health conditions, and self-reported receipt of lifestyle advice was examined in the study. The odds of receiving advice to engage in preventive lifestyle behaviors were significantly higher for those with a pre-existing diagnosis of diabetes or hypertension and for participants reporting poor health status. For example, the odds of receiving advice to control or lose weight was 8.32 (95% CI, 2.65, 26.75) among individuals reporting a diagnosis of diabetes. Similarly, the odds of reporting "receiving advice to reduce salt intake" was 6.97 (95% CI, 3.74, 13.00) among subjects reporting a diagnosis of hypertension. The results are from a cross-sectional study of a sample of individuals in only one county. Additionally, the results are based on patient self-reported information, which could be subject to recall and social desirability bias. Patients with identified health problems were more likely than others to report being advised to adopt healthy lifestyle recommendations. Future research should examine methods to encourage health care providers to offer lifestyle advice to those without pre-existing illness.

  9. Combined impact of lifestyle-related factors on total and cause-specific mortality among Chinese women: prospective cohort study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah J Nechuta

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Although cigarette smoking, excessive alcohol drinking, obesity, and several other well-studied unhealthy lifestyle-related factors each have been linked to the risk of multiple chronic diseases and premature death, little is known about the combined impact on mortality outcomes, in particular among Chinese and other non-Western populations. The objective of this study was to quantify the overall impact of lifestyle-related factors beyond that of active cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption on all-cause and cause-specific mortality in Chinese women.We used data from the Shanghai Women's Health Study, an ongoing population-based prospective cohort study in China. Participants included 71,243 women aged 40 to 70 years enrolled during 1996-2000 who never smoked or drank alcohol regularly. A healthy lifestyle score was created on the basis of five lifestyle-related factors shown to be independently associated with mortality outcomes (normal weight, lower waist-hip ratio, daily exercise, never exposed to spouse's smoking, higher daily fruit and vegetable intake. The score ranged from zero (least healthy to five (most healthy points. During an average follow-up of 9 years, 2,860 deaths occurred, including 775 from cardiovascular disease (CVD and 1,351 from cancer. Adjusted hazard ratios for mortality decreased progressively with an increasing number of healthy lifestyle factors. Compared to women with a score of zero, hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals for women with four to five factors were 0.57 (0.44-0.74 for total mortality, 0.29 (0.16-0.54 for CVD mortality, and 0.76 (0.54-1.06 for cancer mortality. The inverse association between the healthy lifestyle score and mortality was seen consistently regardless of chronic disease status at baseline. The population attributable risks for not having 4-5 healthy lifestyle factors were 33% for total deaths, 59% for CVD deaths, and 19% for cancer deaths.In this first study, to our knowledge, to

  10. Lifestyle behaviours and weight among hospital-based nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zapka, Jane M; Lemon, Stephenie C; Magner, Robert P; Hale, Janet

    2009-11-01

    The purpose of this study was to (i) describe the weight, weight-related perceptions and lifestyle behaviours of hospital-based nurses, and (ii) explore the relationship of demographic, health, weight and job characteristics with lifestyle behaviours. The obesity epidemic is widely documented. Worksite initiatives have been advocated. Nurses represent an important part of the hospital workforce and serve as role models when caring for patients. A sample of 194 nurses from six hospitals participated in anthropometric measurements and self-administered surveys. The majority of nurses were overweight and obese, and some were not actively involved in weight management behaviours. Self-reported health, diet and physical activity behaviours were low, although variable by gender, age and shift. Reports of co-worker norms supported low levels of healthy behaviours. Findings reinforce the need to address the hospital environment and culture as well as individual behaviours for obesity control. Nurse managers have an opportunity to consider interventions that promote a climate favourable to improved health habits by facilitating and supporting healthy lifestyle choices (nutrition and physical activity) and environmental changes. Such efforts have the potential to increase productivity and morale and decrease work-related disabilities and improve quality of life.

  11. Influence of Immunology Knowledge on Healthcare and Healthy Lifestyle.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noor Lide Abu Kassim

    Full Text Available Completing a course in Immunology is expected to improve health care knowledge (HCK, which in turn is anticipated to influence a healthy lifestyle (HLS, controlled use of health care services (HCS and an awareness of emerging health care concerns (HCC. This cross-sectional study was designed to determine whether these interrelationships are empirically supported. Participants involved in this study were government servants from two ministries in Malaysia (n = 356 and university students from a local university (n = 147. Participants were selected using the non-random purposive sampling method. Data were collected using a self-developed questionnaire, which had been validated in a pilot study involving similar subjects. The questionnaire items were analyzed using Rasch analysis, SPSS version 21 and AMOS version 22. Results have shown that participants who followed a course in Immunology (CoI had a higher primary HCK (Mean = 0.69 logit, SD = 1.29 logits compared with those who had not (Mean = -0.27logit, SD = 1.26 logits. Overall, there were significant correlations among the HLS, the awareness of emerging HCC, and the controlled use of HCS (p <0.001. However, no significant correlations were observed between primary HCK and the other variables. However, significant positive correlation was observed between primary HCK and controlled use of HCS for the group without CoI. Path analysis showed that the awareness of emerging HCC exerted a positive influence on controlled use of HCS (β = 0.156, p < .001 and on HLS (β = 0.224, p < .001. These findings suggest that having CoI helps increase primary HCK which influences controlled use of HCS but does not necessarily influence HLS. Hence, introducing Immunology at various levels of education and increasing the public awareness of emerging HCC might help to improve population health en masse. In addition, further investigations on the factors affecting HLS is required to provide a better understanding on

  12. A literature review on sustainable lifestyles and recommendations for further research

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Scott, Kate

    2009-03-15

    The report pulls together evidence surrounding sustainable lifestyles, including the tools and methods available to tackle the issue, understanding why we behave the way we do and looking at the issues surrounding production and products, which form an important part of sustainable lifestyles. In doing so it attempts to tackle the issues relating to the global imbalances in wealth and consumption levels that exist. The report is intended to give a concise insight into the research relating to sustainable lifestyles and to identify key evidence gaps and recommendations for future research

  13. Study protocol: a randomised controlled trial investigating the effect of a healthy lifestyle intervention for people with severe mental disorders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Castle David

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The largest single cause of death among people with severe mental disorders is cardiovascular disease (CVD. The majority of people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder smoke and many are also overweight, considerably increasing their risk of CVD. Treatment for smoking and other health risk behaviours is often not prioritized among people with severe mental disorders. This protocol describes a study in which we will assess the effectiveness of a healthy lifestyle intervention on smoking and CVD risk and associated health behaviours among people with severe mental disorders. Methods/Design 250 smokers with a severe mental disorder will be recruited. After completion of a baseline assessment and an initial face-to-face intervention session, participants will be randomly assigned to either a multi-component intervention for smoking cessation and CVD risk reduction or a telephone-based minimal intervention focusing on smoking cessation. Randomisation will be stratified by site (Newcastle, Sydney, Melbourne, Australia, Body Mass Index (BMI category (normal, overweight, obese and type of antipsychotic medication (typical, atypical. Participants will receive 8 weekly, 3 fortnightly and 6 monthly sessions delivered face to face (typically 1 hour or by telephone (typically 10 minutes. Assessments will be conducted by research staff blind to treatment allocation at baseline, 15 weeks, and 12-, 18-, 24-, 30- and 36-months. Discussion This study will provide comprehensive data on the effect of a healthy lifestyle intervention on smoking and CVD risk among people with severe mental disorders. If shown to be effective, this intervention can be disseminated to treating clinicians using the treatment manuals. Trial registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR identifier: ACTRN12609001039279

  14. The Effect of Mobile Messaging Apps on Cardiac Patient Knowledge of CAD Risk Factors and Adherence to a Healthy Lifestyle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Yea Hung; Chong, Mei Chan; Chua, Yan Piaw; Chui, Ping Lei; Tang, Li Yoong; Rahmat, Norsiah

    2018-05-18

    This study aimed to determine the effect mobile messaging apps on coronary artery disease patient knowledge of and adherence to a healthy lifestyle. Due to the increasing incidence of coronary artery disease in recent years, interventions targeting coronary artery disease risk factors are urgent public priorities. The use of mobile technology in healthcare services and medical education is relatively new with promising future prospects. This study used a quasi-experimental design that included pre- and post-test for intervention and control groups. The study was conducted from January to April 2017 with both intervention and control group, in a teaching hospital in Klang Valley. Convenience sampling was used with inclusive criteria in choosing the 94 patients with coronary artery disease (intervention group: 47 patients; control group: 47 patients). The pre-test was conducted as a baseline measurement for both groups before they were given standard care from a hospital. However, only the intervention group was given a daily information update via WhatsApp for one month. After one month, both groups were assessed with a post-test. The split-plot ANOVA analysis indicates that there is a significant and positive effect of the intervention on coronary artery disease patients' knowledge on CAD risk factors [F(1, 92) = 168.15, p WhatsApp was an effective health intervention in increasing coronary artery disease patient's knowledge and subsequently increasing their adherence to healthy lifestyles. In clinical setting, mobile messaging apps is useful in information delivery and efficient patient monitory. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  15. Rationale and methods of a cluster-randomized controlled trial to promote active and healthy lifestyles among Brazilian students: the "Fortaleça sua Saúde" program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbosa Filho, Valter Cordeiro; Lopes, Adair da Silva; Lima, Antônio Barroso; de Souza, Evanice Avelino; Gubert, Fabiane do Amaral; Silva, Kelly Samara; Vieira, Neiva Francenely Cunha; Trompieri Filho, Nicolino; de Araújo, Thábyta Silva; de Bruin, Pedro Felipe Carvalhedo; Mota, Jorge

    2015-12-07

    Interventions on adolescents' lifestyle are important, but the main mechanisms that explain the changes (mediating variables) on lifestyle are unclear. This paper presents the rationale and methods of an intervention program focused on promoting active and healthy lifestyles (especially physical activity [PA] practice and reducing screen time) among Brazilian students-the Fortaleça sua Saúde program (Portuguese for "strengthen your health"). This is a school-based cluster-randomized controlled trial. Three intervention and three control (no intervention) full-time public schools were randomly selected in Fortaleza, northeastern Brazil. Students (n = 1,272) from classes in Grades 7-9 were eligible, and 1,085 (548 in the intervention and 537 in control schools) completed the baseline and follow-up measures. The program duration was approximately four months and took place in 2014. Intervention strategies focused on teacher training, activities on health in the curriculum, active opportunities in the school environment (the availability of equipment for PA), and health education (health materials for students and parents). Data collection was undertaken before and immediately after the intervention. The primary variables included the practice of PA (weekly PA volume, PA behavior change stage and preference for PA during leisure-time) and screen time (TV and computer/video games). Potential intrapersonal, interpersonal and environmental mediators of PA and screen time were evaluated by a standardized questionnaire. Other lifestyle components (e.g., eating habits, substance use), psychological (e.g., self-rated health, body satisfaction) and biological (general and abdominal obesity) aspects, as well as academic performance were also evaluated in the total sample. Depressive symptoms, eating disorders, sleep quality, objectively-measured PA, and sedentary time were evaluated in obese students. If effective, this program will contribute to the development of public

  16. It is possible for people suffering from mental illness to change their lifestyle

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nordentoft, Merete; Krogh, Jesper; Krogholm, Kirstine Suszkiewicz

    2013-01-01

    A significant share of the excess mortality among people suffering from mental illness is due to unhealthy lifestyles. Obesity, smoking, unhealthy diets and sedentary behaviour is twice as frequent among people with mental illness, but the willingness to improve lifestyle is as high as in healthy...

  17. Lifestyle counseling in hypertension-related visits: analysis of video-taped general practice visits.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Milder, I.E.J.; Blokstra, A.; Groot, J. de; Dulmen, S. van; Bemelmans, W.J.E.

    2008-01-01

    BACKGROUND: The general practitioner (GP) can play an important role in promoting a healthy lifestyle, which is especially relevant in people with an elevated risk of cardiovascular diseases due to hypertension. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the frequency and content of lifestyle

  18. Negotiation over self-control and activity: an analysis of balancing in the repertoires of Finnish healthy lifestyles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pajari, Pia M; Jallinoja, Piia; Absetz, Pilvikki

    2006-05-01

    This study analyses arguments for and against the notion of healthy lifestyles, and the construction of responsibility for health, in group discussions in Finland. With data from four focus groups, we identified five interpretative repertoires: a strong activity repertoire reflects the dominant cultural value of health and emphasizes self-control. Three other repertoires--illness, external barriers, and weak character--share the underlying values of the activity repertoire, but exemplify situations where the individual lacks control, seeking to justify deviations from the norm of activity. One counter-repertoire, the pleasure repertoire, questions the hegemonic value of health, and discusses other competing values. The discussion of health is an ongoing dialectical process drawing from the different repertoires. In order to avoid stigmatization and to save face in the social situation of a focus group, the subjects strive to balance their accounts of behaviours considered unhealthy by also claiming healthy behaviours. They also strike a balance between extreme rigidity and carelessness, emphasizing the ideal of moderation and harmony. The findings point to a need to consider variations in and underpinnings of a "good life" at the individual level. Encouraging people to specify the meaning and content of moderation in their personal lives could provide a new perspective for health education and health promotion.

  19. Lifestyle issues for colorectal cancer survivors--perceived needs, beliefs and opportunities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Annie S; Steele, Robert; Coyle, Joanne

    2013-01-01

    As survival rates for patients treated with colorectal cancer (CRC) increase, it is important to consider the short- and long-term self-management needs. The current work aimed to explore perceived patient needs for advice on diet, activity and beliefs about the role of lifestyle for reducing disease recurrence. Forty colorectal cancer survivors, aged between 27 and 84, participated in six focus groups in community locations in the UK. The findings suggest that CRC survivors would welcome guidance on diet in the immediate posttreatment period to alleviate symptoms and fears about food choices. Many participants actively sought lifestyle advice but experienced confusion, mixed messages, culturally inappropriate guidance and uncertainty about evidence of benefit. There was scepticism over the role of diet and physical activity as causes of cancer, in part because people believed their lifestyles had been healthy and could not see how reinstating healthy behaviours would reduce future disease risk. The sense of changing lifestyle to 'stack the odds in their favour' (against recurrence) appeared a more meaningful concept than prevention per se. Those people who had made or maintained dietary changes highlighted the importance of these to contributing to wellbeing and a sense of control in their life. A dogmatic approach to lifestyle change may lead to perceptions of victim blaming and stigmatisation. Personalised, evidence informed, guidance on lifestyle choices does appear to be a much needed part of care planning and should be built in to survivorship programmes.

  20. It is possible for people suffering from mental illness to change their lifestyle

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nordentoft, Merete; Krogh, Jesper; Krogholm, Kirstine Suszkiewicz

    2013-01-01

    A significant share of the excess mortality among people suffering from mental illness is due to unhealthy lifestyles. Obesity, smoking, unhealthy diets and sedentary behaviour is twice as frequent among people with mental illness, but the willingness to improve lifestyle is as high as in healthy...... people. Based on a review of the literature we conclude that it is possible for people with mental illness to change their lifestyle, but they encounter a number of barriers to lifestyle changes, including their symptoms, adverse drug effects and their life situations....

  1. [Ancient dietetics - lifestyle and medicine].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steger, Florian

    2004-01-01

    The wide reaching meaning of eating and drinking is already recognized in antiquity. The declared aim of antique dietetics is the upbringing to a healthy lifestyle. Fundamental considerations of dietetic, theoretically organized ideas can be traced back to the Presocratics, who, for the first time in cultural history, let themselves be guided by direct observations from nature. Working from the meaning of dietetics as pure nutritional teaching, one can see in the Corpus Hippocraticum a significant, systematic attempt to put forth dietetics as a concept of lifestyle. Here a central aspect is that of equilibrium, as it is expressed in the rule of the four humours. Dietetics continually become a connecting link between Natural Philosophy and Anthropology and a lifestyle orientated to nature. Finally, Galen introduces a further systematization of the already existing and the increasingly modified. Nutrition and health are brought into association and the theoretical presupposed practically overturned. In late Antiquity dietetical outlooks continue to be discussed, which were transferred to the Middle Ages and still show practical relevance.

  2. Raising Awareness for Lung Cancer Prevention and Healthy Lifestyles in Female Scholars from a Low-Income Area in Bogota, Colombia: Evaluation of a National Framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meneses-Echávez, J F; Alba-Ramírez, P A; Correa-Bautista, J E

    2017-07-06

    This study aims to determine the effects of an educational intervention, based on the Colombian guidelines for educational communication in the framework of cancer control, for raising lung cancer prevention-related awareness, and improving healthy lifestyles in female scholars from a low-income area in Bogota, Colombia. Uncontrolled trial conducted in 243 female scholars (mean age 14 years ± 1.5 SD). Two 90 min educational sessions were carried out in March 2015 according to the Colombian guidelines for educational communication in the framework of cancer control. Posters and other educational materials were created by scholars after the intervention. All participants completed a self-reported questionnaire-The Cancer Awareness Measure-at pre and post-intervention, as well as 1, 3, and 6 months after the intervention. Smoking prevalence (8.2% at baseline) was reduced by 3.7% at 6 months follow-up (p risk factors for lung cancer at baseline. These variables showed statistically significant improvements at 6 months follow-up (p communication in the framework of cancer control raised awareness towards lung cancer prevention, reduced smoking, and improved other healthy-lifestyle-related factors in a group of female scholars from a low-income area in Bogota, Colombia. Further randomized controlled studies are needed.

  3. Lifestyle influences human sperm functional quality

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Mnica Ferreira; Joana Vieira Silva; Vladimiro Silva; Antnio Barros; Margarida Fardilha

    2012-01-01

    Objective:To investigate the impact of acute lifestyle changes on human sperm functional quality.Methods:In the academic festivities week, young and apparently healthy male students who voluntarily submit themselves to acute lifestyle alterations(among the potentially important variations are increase in alcohol, caffeine, and tobacco consumption and circadian rhythm shifts) were used as a model system.Sperm samples were obtained before and after the academic week and compared by traditional semen analysis(n=54) and also tested for cleavedPolyADP-ribose polymerase(PARP) protein, an apoptotic marker(n=35).Results:Acute lifestyle changes that occurred during the academic week festivities(the study model) resulted both in a significant reduction in sperm quality, assessed by basic semen analysis(decrease in sperm concentration, total number of spermatozoa, progressive and non-progressive motility and increase in sperm morphological abnormalities) and by an increase in the expression of the apoptotic marker, cleavedPARP, in the ejaculate.Conclusions:Acute lifestyle changes have clear deleterious effects on sperm quality.We propose cleavedPARP as a novel molecular marker, valuable for assessing spermquality in parallel with the basic semen analysis method.

  4. Nutritional Habits and Weight Status among Jazan University Students: Eating Patterns and Healthy lifestyle Assessment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamed S Mahfouz

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Objectives The purposes of this study were to assess the prevalence of underweight, overweight, and obesity and to evaluate the nutritional habits, and related factors among the Students of Jazan University. Methods This cross-sectional study was carried out during the academic year 2014/2015 in Jazan University, Gizan, South West Saudi Arabia. A total of 436 students 19–25 y of age were examined. The questionnaires, including items on eating habits, lifestyle, and socio-demographic characteristics, were completed by the students. Data on weight, height were also collected.  The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square test. Differences were considered statistically significant at P. value  < 0.05. Results The mean weight for males and females were 67.84 and 54.79 kg respectively, with significant differences between males and females (P. value <0.05. The mean BMI for all study participants was reported as 23.31 (kg/m², also with significant difference between the males and females groups. About 45% of the students were of normal weight; the rate of obesity and underweight among students was very high (33.6% and 21.1% respectively, and their dietary habits were unhealthy. Regularity of meals was found only among (16.5% and 20.4% males and females respectively. 83.3% of males and 95.1% of females reported eating snacks during the day. Conclusion The results of this study suggest that the prevalence of overweight and obesity were very high among the studied students. The study showed the need for health education programs on nutritional education in universities in order to increase awareness of students towards healthy eating and lifestyle.   Keywords Body mass index, Cross-sectional study, underweight, overweight, Jazan

  5. For Fit's Sake: A Norms-Based Approach to Healthy Behaviors Through Influence of Presumed Media Influence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ho, Shirley S; Lee, Edmund W J; Ng, Kaijie; Leong, Grace S H; Tham, Tiffany H M

    2016-09-01

    Based on the influence of presumed media influence (IPMI) model as the theoretical framework, this study examines how injunctive norms and personal norms mediate the influence of healthy lifestyle media messages on public intentions to engage in two types of healthy lifestyle behaviors-physical activity and healthy diet. Nationally representative data collected from 1,055 adults in Singapore demonstrate partial support for the key hypotheses that make up the extended IPMI model, highlighting the importance of a norms-based approach in health communication. Our results indicate that perceived media influence on others indirectly shaped public intentions to engage in healthy lifestyle behaviors through personal norms and attitude, providing partial theoretical support for the extended IPMI model. Practical implications for health communicators in designing health campaigns media messages to motivate the public to engage in healthy lifestyle are discussed.

  6. 'Please, sir, can I have some more?' Food, lifestyle, diets: respect and moral responsibility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Beaufort, Inez

    2014-04-01

    This article is about respect for food, responsibility for lifestyle and diet and responsibility for those who suffer from lack of food. After some general reflections on food, feasts, flatulence, taboos and waste, I argue that we have a responsibility to live a healthy lifestyle, but that there are also morally good reasons for taking risks with our health as we cherish other goals and values. Then I discuss situations, using the example of obesity, in which people are not free to choose their lifestyle. Governments and doctors have responsibilities in enabling people to chose healthy eating habits, e.g. by facilitating access to healthy foods and by criticizing scientifically unfounded weight loss diets. I continue to defend that we need to respect food and those who prepare it, and that we have a moral responsibility to contribute to the solution of the food gap in the world. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. A study of the relationship between health awareness, lifestyle ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2011-04-09

    Apr 9, 2011 ... Keywords: health awareness, lifestyle, food labels, South Africa, consumers ... increase in obesity.9 The Medical Research Council's technical report ... nutrition by developing healthy product lines to improve the quality of food ...

  8. Dietary sources of polyphenols in the Mediterranean healthy Eating, Aging and Lifestyle (MEAL) study cohort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Godos, Justyna; Marventano, Stefano; Mistretta, Antonio; Galvano, Fabio; Grosso, Giuseppe

    2017-09-01

    The aim of this study was to estimate the dietary intake and major food sources of polyphenols in the Mediterranean healthy Eating, Aging and Lifestyles (MEAL) study cohort. A total of 1937 individuals (18 + y) of urban population of Catania, Italy, completed a validated 110-item food frequency questionnaire; Phenol-Explorer database was used to estimate polyphenol intake. Mean intake of polyphenols was 663.7 mg/d; the most abundant classes were phenolic acids (362.7 mg/d) and flavonoids (258.7 mg/d). The main dietary sources of total polyphenols were nuts, followed by tea and coffee as source of flavanols and hydroxycinnamic acids, respectively, fruits (i.e. cherries were sources of anthocyanins and citrus fruits of flavanones) and vegetables (i.e. artichokes and olives were sources of flavones and spinach and beans of flavonols); chocolate, red wine and pasta contributed to flavanols and tyrosols, respectively. These findings will be useful to assess the potential benefits of foods with high polyphenol content.

  9. General Practitioners' Perspective on eHealth and Lifestyle Change

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brandt, Carl Joakim; Søgaard, Gabrielle Isidora; Clemensen, Jane

    2018-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Wearables, fitness apps, and patient home monitoring devices are used increasingly by patients and other individuals with lifestyle challenges. All Danish general practitioners (GPs) use digital health records and electronic health (eHealth) consultations on a daily basis, but how...... they perceive the increasing demand for lifestyle advice and whether they see eHealth as part of their lifestyle support should be explored further. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore GPs' perspectives on eHealth devices and apps and the use of eHealth in supporting healthy lifestyle behavior...... or in partnership with 1 to 4 colleagues and all use electronic patient health records for prescription, referral, and asynchronous electronic consultations. We performed qualitative, semistructured, individual in-depth interviews with the GPs in their own office about how they used eHealth and mHealth devices...

  10. Stakeholder perspectives on barriers for healthy living for low-income african american families.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Veronnie Faye; Rowland, Michael L; Young, Linda; Atwood, Katherine; Thompson, Kirsten; Sterrett, Emma; Honaker, Sarah Morsbach; Williams, Joel E; Johnson, Knowlton; Davis, Deborah Winders

    2014-01-01

    Childhood obesity is a growing problem for children in the United States, especially for children from low-income, African American families. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand facilitators and barriers to engaging in healthy lifestyles faced by low-income African American children and their families. This qualitative study used semi-structured focus group interviews with eight African American children clinically identified as overweight or obese (BMI ≥ 85) and their parents. An expert panel provided insights in developing culturally appropriate intervention strategies. Child and parent focus group analysis revealed 11 barriers and no definitive facilitators for healthy eating and lifestyles. Parents reported confusion regarding what constitutes nutritional eating, varying needs of family members in terms of issues with weight, and difficulty in engaging the family in appropriate and safe physical activities; to name a few themes. Community experts independently suggested that nutritional information is confusing and, often, contradictory. Additionally, they recommended simple messaging and practical interventions such as helping with shopping lists, meal planning, and identifying simple and inexpensive physical activities. Childhood obesity in the context of low-resource families is a complex problem with no simple solutions. Culturally sensitive and family informed interventions are needed to support low-income African American families in dealing with childhood obesity.

  11. Effectiveness of a web-based health risk assessment with individually-tailored feedback on lifestyle behaviour: study protocol

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laan Eva K

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Physical inactivity, unhealthy dietary habits, smoking and high alcohol consumption are recognized risk factors for cardiovascular disease and cancer. Web-based health risk assessments with tailored feedback seem promising in promoting a healthy lifestyle. This study evaluates the effectiveness of a web-based health risk assessment with individually-tailored feedback on lifestyle behaviour, conducted in a worksite setting. Methods/Design The web-based health risk assessment starts with a questionnaire covering socio-demographic variables, family and personal medical history, lifestyle behaviour and psychological variables. Prognostic models are used to estimate individual cardiovascular risks. In case of high risk further biometric and laboratory evaluation is advised. All participants receive individually-tailored feedback on their responses to the health risk assessment questionnaire. The study uses a quasi-experimental design with a waiting list control group. Data are collected at baseline (T0 and after six months (T1. Within each company, clusters of employees are allocated to either the intervention or the control group. Primary outcome is lifestyle behaviour, expressed as the sum of five indicators namely physical activity, nutrition, smoking behaviour, alcohol consumption, and symptoms of burnout. Multilevel regression analysis will be used to answer the main research question and to correct for clustering effects. Baseline differences between the intervention and control group in the distribution of characteristics with a potential effect on lifestyle change will be taken into account in further analyses using propensity scores. Discussion This study will increase insight into the effectiveness of health risk assessments with tailored feedback and into conditions that may modify the effectiveness. This information can be used to design effective interventions for lifestyle behaviour change among employees. Trial

  12. The manufacture of lifestyle: the role of corporations in unhealthy living.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freudenberg, Nicholas

    2012-05-01

    Recently, researchers have debated two views on the connection between lifestyle and health. In the first, health-related lifestyles including tobacco and alcohol use, diet, and physical activity are seen as primary influences on health. In the second, social stratification is the dominant influence with lifestyles simply markers of social status. Neither approach leads to interventions that can reverse the world's most serious health problems. This article proposes that corporate practices are a dominant influence on the lifestyles that shape patterns of health and disease. Modifying business practices that promote unhealthy lifestyles is a promising strategy for improving population health. Corporations shape lifestyles by producing and promoting healthy or unhealthy products, creating psychological desires and fears, providing health information, influencing social and physical environments, and advancing policies that favor their business goals. Public officials and health professionals can promote health by advocating policies to modify these corporate practices.

  13. Longitudinal changes in lifestyle behaviors and health status in colon cancer survivors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Satia, Jessie A; Campbell, Marci K; Galanko, Joseph A; James, Aimee; Carr, Carol; Sandler, Robert S

    2004-06-01

    Lifestyle changes in persons diagnosed with cancer are important because they may impact prognosis, co-morbidities, and survival. This report describes longitudinal changes in lifestyle behaviors and health status among colon cancer survivors (n = 278) and population-based controls (n = 459) in North Carolina (39% African American), and examines demographic and psychosocial correlates of healthy lifestyle changes following a colon cancer diagnosis. Data are from surveys of a population-based cohort of colon cancer patients on diagnosis (the North Carolina Colon Cancer Study, NCCCS) and approximately 2 years post-diagnosis [the North Carolina Strategies to Improve Diet, Exercise, and Screening Study (NC STRIDES)], and population-based controls. Both studies collected information on demographic/lifestyle characteristics and medical history. The NCCCS reflects pre-diagnosis or pre-interview patterns, whereas NC STRIDES queried on current practices. Between the NCCCS and NC STRIDES, colon cancer survivors reported significant increases in vegetable intake, physical activity, and supplement use (all P dietary supplement post-diagnosis, whereas being retired correlated with increased vegetable intake, all P Colon cancer survivors reported making significant improvements in multiple health-related behaviors. Health care providers should communicate with persons diagnosed with colon cancer to ensure that they are making healthy lifestyle changes.

  14. Perceptions of illness, lifestyle and support after an acute myocardial infarction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Junehag, Lena; Asplund, Kenneth; Svedlund, Marianne

    2014-06-01

    After an acute myocardial infarction (AMI), people are encouraged to adopt a healthy lifestyle. But they are not always motivated to maintain the necessary lifestyle changes and need the right support to do it. In sparsely populated areas, people afflicted by an AMI have difficulty in finding standard rehabilitation programmes near their homes during the recovery, so they need alternative forms of support. The aim was to describe individual perceptions of their lifestyle and support, 1 year after an AMI, with or without mentorship. This study has a qualitative, descriptive design with data collected in individual interviews. Twenty men and women were interviewed 1 year after their first AMI, and 11 had been offered contact with mentors who had had an AMI. Content analysis was used to analyse the data. Those with and without mentors had similarities and tendencies to variation in their perceptions, with both a positive and negative view of life. The participants were aware of the necessity of living a healthy lifestyle but some resisted doing so. They wished to live as before, and all saw the future positively. Having a mentor with the same experience could be valuable for some people, but more research is needed to understand the lack of motivation to make beneficial lifestyle changes after a serious health event as AMI. © 2013 Nordic College of Caring Science.

  15. Income and Subjective Well-Being: New Insights from Relatively Healthy American Women, Ages 49-79.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grace Wyshak

    Full Text Available The interests of economists, psychologists, social scientists and others on the relations of income, demographics, religion and subjective well-being, have generated a vast global literature. It is apparent that biomedical research has focused on white with men. The Women's Health Initiative and Observational Study (WHI OS was initiated in 1992. The OS represents the scientific need for social priorities to improve the health and welfare of women; it includes 93.676 relatively healthy postmenopausal women, 49 to 79, from diverse backgrounds. The objective of this study is to examine how lifestyle and other factors influence women's health. Data from the WHI OS questionnaire were analyzed. Statistical methods included descriptive statistics square, correlations, linear regression and analyses of covariance (GLM. New findings and insights relate primarily to general health, religion, club attendance, and likelihood of depression. The most important predictor of excellent or very good health is quality of life and general health is a major predictor of quality of life. A great deal of strength and comfort from religion was reported by 62.98% of the women, with little variation by denomination. More from religion related to poorer health, and less likelihood of depression. Religion and lower income are in accord with of across country studies. Attendance at clubs was associated with religion and with all factors associated with religion, except income. Though general health and likelihood of depression are highly correlated, better health is associated with higher income; however, likelihood of depression is not associated with income--contrary to conventional wisdom about socioeconomic disparities and mental health. Subjective well-being variables, with the exception of quality of life, were not associated with income. Social networks--religion and clubs--among a diverse population, warrant further attention from economists, psychologists

  16. [The joint effects of major lifestyle factors on stomach cancer risk among Chinese men: a prospective cohort study].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Q L; Zheng, W; Li, H L; Gao, J; Fang, J; Gao, L F; Liu, D K; Shu, X O; Xiang, Y B

    2017-05-06

    Objective: To investigate the combined impact of lifestyle factors on stomach cancer risk. Methods: We analyzed the data from the Shanghai Men's Health Study (SMHS) (2002-2013). The SMHS was conducted in eight neighborhood communities of urban Shanghai. From 2002 through June 2006, 61 480 residents aged 40 to 74 years old with no history of cancer were recruited. Failure time was the date of stomach cancer incidence, death or date of the last follow-up (December 31, 2013). The first two in-person follow-up surveys were conducted in 2004-2008, and 2008-2011, respectively. Using data on lifestyle, the healthy lifestyle index (HLI) was developed. The following lifestyle factors were included: smoking, alcohol consumption, diet habit, overweighted and physical activity. Cox proportional hazard models were used to evaluate the association of stomach cancer risk with lifestyle factors and HLI. Results: Over 9.28 years' follow-up, 477 incident cases of stomach cancer were identified from 59 503 study participants. Participants with zero, one, two, three, four, and five favorable lifestyle behaviors accounted for 3.44% ( n= 2 045), 18.14% ( n= 10 793), 33.68% ( n= 20 041), 29.43% ( n= 17 511), 12.82% ( n= 7 627), and 2.50% ( n= 1 486), respectively. Among all the five lifestyle factors, smoking and alcohol use were significantly related to stomach cancer risk. The relative risk of stomach cancer was 0.71 (95 %CI : 0.57-0.87) for those who never smoked or quitted smoking for no less than 10 years and 0.70 (95 %CI : 0.55-0.90) for those who consumed alcohol no more than 14 drinks per week. For each increment of healthy lifestyle index, the relative risk of stomach cancer was 0.86 (95 %CI : 0.79-0.95). Compared to men with none or one healthy lifestyle factor, the relative risk for those with four or five was 0.62 (95 %CI : 0.46-0.83). When we rebuilt HLI using more categories of each lifestyle factors, the HLI ranged from 0 to 11. For each point increase, the relative risk

  17. Effect of a school-based intervention to promote healthy lifestyles in 7–11 year old children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stensel David J

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Physical inactivity is recognised as a public health concern within children and interventions to increase physical activity are needed. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effect of a school-based healthy lifestyles intervention on physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption, body composition, knowledge, and psychological variables. Method A non-randomised controlled study involving 8 primary schools (4 intervention, 4 control. Participants were 589 children aged 7–11 years. The intervention lasted 10 months and comprised a CD-rom learning and teaching resource for teachers; an interactive website for pupils, teachers and parents; two highlight physical activity events (1 mile school runs/walks; a local media campaign; and a summer activity wall planner and record. Primary outcome measures were objectively measured physical activity (pedometers and accelerometers and fruit and vegetable consumption. Secondary outcomes included body mass index, waist circumference, estimated percent body fat, knowledge, psychological variables. Multi-level modelling was employed for the data analysis. Results Relative to children in control schools, those in intervention schools significantly increased their total time in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA (by 9 minutes/day vs a decrease of 10 minutes/day, their time in MVPA bouts lasting at least one minute (10 minutes/day increase vs no change and increased daily steps (3059 steps per day increase vs 1527 steps per day increase. A similar pattern of results was seen in a subset of the least active participants at baseline. Older participants in intervention schools showed a significant slowing in the rate of increase in estimated percent body fat, BMI, and waist circumference. There were no differences between groups in fruit and vegetable intake. Extrinsic motivation decreased more in the intervention group. Conclusion The intervention produced positive

  18. How do Polish workers respond to the information concerning health-oriented lifestyle?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elżbieta Korzeniowska

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Background: Information overload, including commercial ones, about healthy lifestyle, is a challenge for perception of health education. Material and Methods: The empirical data gathered from 100 employees in 2010 by means of free interviews with a standardized list of required information, aimed at analyzing a feeling of pressure to lead a healthy lifestyle, including reactions to meassages provided by the media. Results: Respondents feel pressure associated with a healthy lifestyle from doctors, the state, relatives, friends and themselves. They accept pressure exerted by doctors and appreciate it from relatives and friends, however, the latter may stimulate adverse behavior. As a negative pressure they perceive that imposed by the media, government’s shifting the responsibility for citizens’ health, information overload contradictory to their own knowledge, unattainable recommendations and their volatility. Such pressure evokes conviction for their own resistance or rejection of the messages. They criticize the media for promoting unhealthy behavior, attending interests of advertisers, hiding information about harmful environmental influence. They appreciate the media for facilitating learning about health and preventive examinations. Health education messages are only occasionally identified by better educated people. Conclusions: “Dense” information environment is a hostile background for health education. An excess of critically evaluated information evokes pressure and lack of trust in information. Therefore, health education should facilitate the identification of its contents, avoid normative methods, limit the number of guidelines and better explain the faced changes, counteract tendencies to associate healthy lifestyle mainly with consumer behaviors, teach how to maintain self orientation in information overload conditions, and build up awareness of one’s own brand. Med Pr 2017;68(4:525–543

  19. [How do Polish workers respond to the information concerning health-oriented lifestyle?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korzeniowska, Elżbieta; Puchalski, Krzysztof

    2017-06-27

    Information overload, including commercial ones, about healthy lifestyle, is a challenge for perception of health education. The empirical data gathered from 100 employees in 2010 by means of free interviews with a standardized list of required information, aimed at analyzing a feeling of pressure to lead a healthy lifestyle, including reactions to meassages provided by the media. Respondents feel pressure associated with a healthy lifestyle from doctors, the state, relatives, friends and themselves. They accept pressure exerted by doctors and appreciate it from relatives and friends, however, the latter may stimulate adverse behavior. As a negative pressure they perceive that imposed by the media, government's shifting the responsibility for citizens' health, information overload contradictory to their own knowledge, unattainable recommendations and their volatility. Such pressure evokes conviction for their own resistance or rejection of the messages. They criticize the media for promoting unhealthy behavior, attending interests of advertisers, hiding information about harmful environmental influence. They appreciate the media for facilitating learning about health and preventive examinations. Health education messages are only occasionally identified by better educated people. "Dense" information environment is a hostile background for health education. An excess of critically evaluated information evokes pressure and lack of trust in information. Therefore, health education should facilitate the identification of its contents, avoid normative methods, limit the number of guidelines and better explain the faced changes, counteract tendencies to associate healthy lifestyle mainly with consumer behaviors, teach how to maintain self orientation in information overload conditions, and build up awareness of one's own brand. Med Pr 2017;68(4):525-543. This work is available in Open Access model and licensed under a CC BY-NC 3.0 PL license.

  20. An exploratory trial of a health education programme to promote healthy lifestyles through social and emotional competence in young children: Study protocol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bermejo-Martins, Elena; López-Dicastillo, Olga; Mujika, Agurtzane

    2018-01-01

    To implement and evaluate a health education programme based on the development of social and emotional competence in young children. Children's social and emotional skills play a key role in the adoption and maintenance of their lifestyles. Currently, a more comprehensive perspective dealing with these aspects is needed to promote healthy habits in children and develop effective health education programmes. An exploratory randomized controlled trial. A convenience sample of 30 children (5 and 6 years old) will be recruited from a public school in Spain, with 15 participants in the experimental group and 15 in the control group. Participants in the experimental group will receive the first unit of the programme, consisting of developing emotional knowledge skills around daily health habits (eating, hygiene, sleep and physical exercise) using different game-based dynamics and an emotional diary, while those in the control group will continue with their usual school routine. Outcome measures include emotional knowledge ability, basic social skills and children's health profile. The perceived impact of the intervention by parents, acceptability (by parents and children) and feasibility of the programme will be also assessed. Data will be collected at baseline, postintervention and at 7-month follow-up. This study offers an innovative intervention aimed at improving children's healthy lifestyles from a holistic perspective by addressing social and emotional competence as one of the most influential aspects of children's development. This exploratory trial is an essential step to explore crucial aspects of the full-scale clinical trial. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. The Impact of Education About Cervical Cancer and Human Papillomavirus on Women's Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors and Beliefs: Using the PRECEDE Educational Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koç, Zeliha; Özdeş, Emel Kurtoğlu; Topatan, Serap; Çinarli, Tuğba; Şener, Asuman; Danaci, Esra; Palazoğlu, Cansu Atmaca

    2018-02-14

    Early detection of cervical cancer improves the chances of successful treatment. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of education about cervical cancer and human papillomavirus on the healthy lifestyle, behavior, and beliefs of Turkish women who were without cancer, using the PRECEDE education model. This qualitative and quantitative study was conducted as a prospective, randomized, 2-group (intervention and control) trial at a community training center in north Turkey. A total of 156 Turkish women who were without cancer participated in this study. The semistructured interview form, the SF-36 Health Status Questionnaire, the Health Belief Model Scale for Cervical Cancer and Pap Smear Test, and the Healthy Lifestyle Behavior Scale II were used. The subdimension scores of the Health Belief Model Scale for Cervical Cancer and Pap Smear Test were found to be higher among women in the study group (cervical cancer seriousness, P = .001; health motivation, P = .001) as compared with the control group after the education program. The SF-36 Health Status Questionnaire domain scores for physical role limitations, mental role limitations, and general health perceptions increased in the study group after the intervention. The posteducation health motivation of women in the study group was improved, the women's perceptions of obstacles to Papanicolaou testing decreased, and through increased knowledge and awareness, the rate of Papanicolaou testing increased. Educational programs aimed at motivating women to increase their awareness of cervical cancer, preventing cervical cancer, and having Papanicolaou testing are necessary and beneficial in this sample.

  2. Association between adverse mental health and an unhealthy lifestyle in rural-to-urban migrant workers in Shanghai

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hua Yang

    2017-02-01

    Conclusion: Lifestyle behaviors were significantly associated with mental health in rural-to-urban migrant workers, and these findings indicate the need to develop targeted psychological interventions to foster healthy lifestyles in migrants.

  3. The Genome Sequence of the Leaf-Cutter Ant Atta cephalotes Reveals Insights into Its Obligate Symbiotic Lifestyle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suen, Garret; Holt, Carson; Abouheif, Ehab; Bornberg-Bauer, Erich; Bouffard, Pascal; Caldera, Eric J.; Cash, Elizabeth; Cavanaugh, Amy; Denas, Olgert; Elhaik, Eran; Favé, Marie-Julie; Gadau, Jürgen; Gibson, Joshua D.; Graur, Dan; Grubbs, Kirk J.; Hagen, Darren E.; Harkins, Timothy T.; Helmkampf, Martin; Hu, Hao; Johnson, Brian R.; Kim, Jay; Marsh, Sarah E.; Moeller, Joseph A.; Muñoz-Torres, Mónica C.; Murphy, Marguerite C.; Naughton, Meredith C.; Nigam, Surabhi; Overson, Rick; Rajakumar, Rajendhran; Reese, Justin T.; Scott, Jarrod J.; Smith, Chris R.; Tao, Shu; Tsutsui, Neil D.; Viljakainen, Lumi; Wissler, Lothar; Yandell, Mark D.; Zimmer, Fabian; Taylor, James; Slater, Steven C.; Clifton, Sandra W.; Warren, Wesley C.; Elsik, Christine G.; Smith, Christopher D.; Weinstock, George M.; Gerardo, Nicole M.; Currie, Cameron R.

    2011-01-01

    Leaf-cutter ants are one of the most important herbivorous insects in the Neotropics, harvesting vast quantities of fresh leaf material. The ants use leaves to cultivate a fungus that serves as the colony's primary food source. This obligate ant-fungus mutualism is one of the few occurrences of farming by non-humans and likely facilitated the formation of their massive colonies. Mature leaf-cutter ant colonies contain millions of workers ranging in size from small garden tenders to large soldiers, resulting in one of the most complex polymorphic caste systems within ants. To begin uncovering the genomic underpinnings of this system, we sequenced the genome of Atta cephalotes using 454 pyrosequencing. One prediction from this ant's lifestyle is that it has undergone genetic modifications that reflect its obligate dependence on the fungus for nutrients. Analysis of this genome sequence is consistent with this hypothesis, as we find evidence for reductions in genes related to nutrient acquisition. These include extensive reductions in serine proteases (which are likely unnecessary because proteolysis is not a primary mechanism used to process nutrients obtained from the fungus), a loss of genes involved in arginine biosynthesis (suggesting that this amino acid is obtained from the fungus), and the absence of a hexamerin (which sequesters amino acids during larval development in other insects). Following recent reports of genome sequences from other insects that engage in symbioses with beneficial microbes, the A. cephalotes genome provides new insights into the symbiotic lifestyle of this ant and advances our understanding of host–microbe symbioses. PMID:21347285

  4. The genome sequence of the leaf-cutter ant Atta cephalotes reveals insights into its obligate symbiotic lifestyle.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Garret Suen

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Leaf-cutter ants are one of the most important herbivorous insects in the Neotropics, harvesting vast quantities of fresh leaf material. The ants use leaves to cultivate a fungus that serves as the colony's primary food source. This obligate ant-fungus mutualism is one of the few occurrences of farming by non-humans and likely facilitated the formation of their massive colonies. Mature leaf-cutter ant colonies contain millions of workers ranging in size from small garden tenders to large soldiers, resulting in one of the most complex polymorphic caste systems within ants. To begin uncovering the genomic underpinnings of this system, we sequenced the genome of Atta cephalotes using 454 pyrosequencing. One prediction from this ant's lifestyle is that it has undergone genetic modifications that reflect its obligate dependence on the fungus for nutrients. Analysis of this genome sequence is consistent with this hypothesis, as we find evidence for reductions in genes related to nutrient acquisition. These include extensive reductions in serine proteases (which are likely unnecessary because proteolysis is not a primary mechanism used to process nutrients obtained from the fungus, a loss of genes involved in arginine biosynthesis (suggesting that this amino acid is obtained from the fungus, and the absence of a hexamerin (which sequesters amino acids during larval development in other insects. Following recent reports of genome sequences from other insects that engage in symbioses with beneficial microbes, the A. cephalotes genome provides new insights into the symbiotic lifestyle of this ant and advances our understanding of host-microbe symbioses.

  5. Offspring body size and metabolic profile - effects of lifestyle intervention in obese pregnant women

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tanvig, Mette; Jensen, Dorte Møller

    2014-01-01

    . The obesity epidemic is not simply a consequence of poor diet or sedentary lifestyles. Obesity is a multifactorial condition in which environmental, biological and genetic factors all play essential roles. The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DoHaD) hypothesis has highlighted the link between...... of normal weight mothers all outcomes were similar. We speculate that obese mothers entering a lifestyle intervention RCT regardless of the intervention have a high motivation to focus on healthy lifestyle during pregnancy, which makes it difficult to determine the effects of the randomized lifestyle...

  6. Lifestyle changes in cancer patients undergoing curative or palliative chemotherapy: is it feasible?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vassbakk-Brovold, Karianne; Berntsen, Sveinung; Fegran, Liv; Lian, Henrik; Mjåland, Odd; Mjåland, Svein; Nordin, Karin; Seiler, Stephen; Kersten, Christian

    2017-12-14

    This study aimed to explore the feasibility of an individualized comprehensive lifestyle intervention in cancer patients undergoing curative or palliative chemotherapy. At one cancer center, serving a population of 180,000, 100 consecutive of 161 eligible newly diagnosed cancer patients starting curative or palliative chemotherapy entered a 12-month comprehensive, individualized lifestyle intervention. Participants received a grouped startup course and monthly counseling, based on self-reported and electronically evaluated lifestyle behaviors. Patients with completed baseline and end of study measurements are included in the final analyses. Patients who did not complete end of study measurements are defined as dropouts. More completers (n = 61) vs. dropouts (n = 39) were married or living together (87 vs. 69%, p = .031), and significantly higher baseline physical activity levels (960 vs. 489 min . wk -1 , p = .010), more healthy dietary choices (14 vs 11 points, p = .038) and fewer smokers (8 vs. 23%, p = .036) were observed among completers vs. dropouts. Logistic regression revealed younger (odds ratios (OR): 0.95, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.91, 0.99) and more patients diagnosed with breast cancer vs. more severe cancer types (OR: 0.16, 95% CI: 0.04, 0.56) among completers vs. dropouts. Improvements were observed in completers healthy (37%, p < 0.001) and unhealthy dietary habits (23%, p = .002), and distress (94%, p < .001). No significant reductions were observed in physical activity levels. Patients treated with palliative intent did not reduce their physical activity levels while healthy dietary habits (38%, p = 0.021) and distress (104%, p = 0.012) was improved. Favorable and possibly clinical relevant lifestyle changes were observed in cancer patients undergoing curative or palliative chemotherapy after a 12-month comprehensive and individualized lifestyle intervention. Palliative patients were able to

  7. Effect of lifestyle, education and socioeconomic status on periodontal health

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gundala, Rupasree; Chava, Vijay K.

    2010-01-01

    Background: The health model which forms the basis is knowledge, attitude, temporary, and permanent behaviors. Currently, more emphasis has been directed towards the combined influence of lifestyle, education, levels and socioeconomic factors, instead of regular risk factors in dealing with chronic illnesses. The present study is conducted to correlate the periodontal health of people with reference to lifestyle, education level, and socioeconomic status. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Periodontics, Narayana Dental College and Hospital, Nellore. A total of 1350 subjects were examined and 948 patients were randomly selected from out patient department. Information about their lifestyle, education level, and socioeconomic status were recorded using a questionnaire and correlated with the periodontal status. Results: The statistical analysis showed significant decrease in periodontitis when income and education levels increased. Also the prevalence of periodontitis associated with a healthy lifestyle is significantly lower when compared to an unhealthy lifestyle. Conclusions: There is a strong association of lifestyle, education level, and socioeconomic status with periodontal health. PMID:22114373

  8. Tailored interactive technology for a healthy lifestyle

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dallinga, Joan; Mehra, Sumit; van der Bie, Joey; Nibbeling, Nicky; Simons, Monique; Deutekom-Baart de la Faille, Marije

    2017-01-01

    During the persuasive technology symposium, Marije Deutekom - Baart de la Faille and colleagues organised a symposium session with 4 presentations: • Presentation 1: A home based exercise program: are older adults able to use mHealth technology? (Sumit Mehra). • Presentation 2: Promoting healthy

  9. Reaching Perinatal Women Online: The Healthy You, Healthy Baby Website and App

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lydia Hearn

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Overwhelming evidence reveals the close link between unwarranted weight gain among childbearing women and childhood adiposity. Yet current barriers limit the capacity of perinatal health care providers (PHCPs to offer healthy lifestyle counselling. In response, today’s Internet savvy women are turning to online resources to access health information, with the potential of revolutionising health services by enabling PHCPs to guide women to appropriate online resources. This paper presents the findings of a project designed to develop an online resource to promote healthy lifestyles during the perinatal period. The methodology involved focus groups and interviews with perinatal women and PHCPs to determine what online information was needed, in what form, and how best it should be presented. The outcome was the development of the Healthy You, Healthy Baby website and smartphone app. This clinically-endorsed, interactive online resource provides perinatal women with a personalised tool to track their weight, diet, physical activity, emotional wellbeing, and sleep patterns based on the developmental stage of their child with links to quality-assured information. One year since the launch of the online resource, data indicates it provides a low-cost intervention delivered across most geographic and socioeconomic strata without additional demands on health service staff.

  10. Social capital and health in China: exploring the mediating role of lifestyle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, Xindong; Cheng, Mingmei

    2017-11-06

    Although social capital as a key determinant of health has been well established in various studies, little is known about how lifestyle factors mediate this relationship. Understanding the cross-relationships between social capital, health, and lifestyle factors is important if health promotion policies are to be effective. The purpose of this study is to explore whether different dimensions of social capital and lifestyle factors are related, and whether lifestyle factors mediate the association between social capital and self-rated health (SRH) and psychological well-being (PWB) in China. This study used nationally representative data from the 2014 China Family Panel Studies (n = 28,916). The data reported on three dimensions of individual-level social capital: social trust, social relationship and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) membership. Health was assessed using SRH and PWB. Five lifestyle indicators were recorded: healthy diet, physical activity, smoking, sleeping, and non-overweight status. Logistic regression was used to examine the associations between social capital and lifestyle factors, and whether there was a mediating role of lifestyle. Odds ratios relating health status to social capital were reported before and after adjustment for lifestyle factors. Mediation analysis was then used to calculate the total, direct and indirect effects of social capital on SRH and PWB. The results show that social trust was significantly associated with all five lifestyle factors. Social relationship was significantly associated with four of the five: healthy diet, physical activity, sleeping and non-overweight. CCP membership was only significantly associated with two lifestyle factors: physical activity and non-overweight. Social trust and social relationship were significantly related to both SRH and PWB. CCP membership was only significantly related to SRH. Mediation analysis found modest evidence that lifestyle factors influenced the relationship between all

  11. Social capital and health in China: exploring the mediating role of lifestyle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xindong Xue

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Although social capital as a key determinant of health has been well established in various studies, little is known about how lifestyle factors mediate this relationship. Understanding the cross-relationships between social capital, health, and lifestyle factors is important if health promotion policies are to be effective. The purpose of this study is to explore whether different dimensions of social capital and lifestyle factors are related, and whether lifestyle factors mediate the association between social capital and self-rated health (SRH and psychological well-being (PWB in China. Methods This study used nationally representative data from the 2014 China Family Panel Studies (n = 28,916. The data reported on three dimensions of individual-level social capital: social trust, social relationship and Chinese Communist Party (CCP membership. Health was assessed using SRH and PWB. Five lifestyle indicators were recorded: healthy diet, physical activity, smoking, sleeping, and non-overweight status. Logistic regression was used to examine the associations between social capital and lifestyle factors, and whether there was a mediating role of lifestyle. Odds ratios relating health status to social capital were reported before and after adjustment for lifestyle factors. Mediation analysis was then used to calculate the total, direct and indirect effects of social capital on SRH and PWB. Results The results show that social trust was significantly associated with all five lifestyle factors. Social relationship was significantly associated with four of the five: healthy diet, physical activity, sleeping and non-overweight. CCP membership was only significantly associated with two lifestyle factors: physical activity and non-overweight. Social trust and social relationship were significantly related to both SRH and PWB. CCP membership was only significantly related to SRH. Mediation analysis found modest evidence that

  12. Determinants of lifestyle behavior change to prevent type 2 diabetes in high-risk individuals

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Braver, den Nicole; Vet, de E.W.M.L.; Duijzer, G.; Beek, ter J.; Jansen, S.C.; Hiddink, G.J.; Feskens, E.J.M.; Haveman-Nies, A.

    2017-01-01

    Background
    Although there are many effective lifestyle interventions for type 2 diabetes (T2DM) prevention, insight into effective intervention pathways, especially of long-term interventions, is often lacking. This study aims to provide insight into the effective intervention pathways of the

  13. Strategies for successful recruitment of young adults to healthy lifestyle programmes for the prevention of weight gain: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lam, E; Partridge, S R; Allman-Farinelli, M

    2016-02-01

    Recruiting healthy young adults, aged 18-35, to lifestyle programmes for prevention of weight gain is challenging but important given their increasing rates of obesity. This review aimed to examine the success of different recruitment strategies. A systematic literature search identified 26 separate studies using 10 electronic databases. Participant characteristics and efficacy of interventions were well reported in all studies, but reporting of recruitment procedures, costs, times and effectiveness was minimal. Of those reporting recruitment, both active (e.g. face-to-face) and passive (e.g. print-media and mass-mailings) approaches were identified with the latter most frequently employed. Novel strategies such as social media and marketing approaches were identified. Television and radio have potentially high reach but low efficiency with high cost compared with mass-mailings which yield high numbers of participants. Marketing campaigns appeared to be a promising approach. Incentives demonstrated enhanced recruitment. The use of formative research to guide recruitment strategies for interventions is recommended. Reporting of success, cost and timelines for recruitment should be included in reporting of future trials. This first synthesis of recruitment information can be used to inform recruitment frameworks for lifestyle programmes seeking to attract young adults. © 2015 World Obesity.

  14. Predictors of healthy ageing: public health policy targets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sowa, Agnieszka; Tobiasz-Adamczyk, Beata; Topór-Mądry, Roman; Poscia, Andrea; la Milia, Daniele Ignazio

    2016-09-05

    The public health policy agenda oriented towards healthy ageing becomes the highest priority for the European countries. The article discusses the healthy ageing concept and its possible determinants with an aim to identify behavioral patterns related to healthy ageing in selected European countries. The healthy ageing is assessed based on a composite indicator of self-assessed health, functional capabilities and life meaningfulness. The logistic regression models are used to assess the impact of the healthy lifestyle index, psycho-social index and socio-economic status on the probability of healthy ageing (i.e. being healthy at older age). The lifestyle and psychosocial indexes are created as a sum of behaviors that might be important for healthy ageing. Models are analyzed for three age groups of older people: 60-67, 68-79 and 80+ as well as for three groups of countries representing Western, Southern and Central-Eastern Europe. The lifestyle index covering vigorous and moderate physical activity, consumption of vegetables and fruits, regular consumption of meals and adequate consumption of liquids is positively related to healthy ageing, increasing the likelihood of being healthy at older age with each of the items specified in the index. The score of the index is found to be significantly higher (on average by 1 point for men and 1.1 for women) for individuals ageing healthily. The psychosocial index covering employment, outdoor social participation, indoor activities and life satisfaction is also found to be significantly related to health increasing the likelihood of healthy ageing with each point of the index score. There is an educational gradient in healthy ageing in the population below the age of 68 and in Southern and Central-Eastern European countries. In Western European countries, income is positively related to healthy ageing for females. Stimulation physical activity and adequate nutrition are crucial domains for a well-defined public health policy

  15. The Intervention Nurses Start Infants Growing on Healthy Trajectories (INSIGHT) study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paul, Ian M; Williams, Jennifer S; Anzman-Frasca, Stephanie; Beiler, Jessica S; Makova, Kateryna D; Marini, Michele E; Hess, Lindsey B; Rzucidlo, Susan E; Verdiglione, Nicole; Mindell, Jodi A; Birch, Leann L

    2014-07-18

    Because early life growth has long-lasting metabolic and behavioral consequences, intervention during this period of developmental plasticity may alter long-term obesity risk. While modifiable factors during infancy have been identified, until recently, preventive interventions had not been tested. The Intervention Nurses Starting Infants Growing on Healthy Trajectories (INSIGHT). Study is a longitudinal, randomized, controlled trial evaluating a responsive parenting intervention designed for the primary prevention of obesity. This "parenting" intervention is being compared with a home safety control among first-born infants and their parents. INSIGHT's central hypothesis is that responsive parenting and specifically responsive feeding promotes self-regulation and shared parent-child responsibility for feeding, reducing subsequent risk for overeating and overweight. 316 first-time mothers and their full-term newborns were enrolled from one maternity ward. Two weeks following delivery, dyads were randomly assigned to the "parenting" or "safety" groups. Subsequently, research nurses conduct study visits for both groups consisting of home visits at infant age 3-4, 16, 28, and 40 weeks, followed by annual clinic-based visits at 1, 2, and 3 years. Both groups receive intervention components framed around four behavior states: Sleeping, Fussy, Alert and Calm, and Drowsy. The main study outcome is BMI z-score at age 3 years; additional outcomes include those related to patterns of infant weight gain, infant sleep hygiene and duration, maternal responsiveness and soothing strategies for infant/toddler distress and fussiness, maternal feeding style and infant dietary content and physical activity. Maternal outcomes related to weight status, diet, mental health, and parenting sense of competence are being collected. Infant temperament will be explored as a moderator of parenting effects, and blood is collected to obtain genetic predictors of weight status. Finally, second

  16. Dietary quality, lifestile factors and healthy ageing in Europe

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Haveman-Nies, A.

    2001-01-01

    Keywords: dietary quality, dietary patterns, lifestyle factors, smoking, physical activity, elderly, mortality, Mediterranean Diet Score, Healthy Diet Indicator, healthy ageing, self-rated health, functional status


    The contribution

  17. Healthy-lifestyle behaviors associated with overweight and obesity in US rural children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tovar Alison

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background There are disproportionately higher rates of overweight and obesity in poor rural communities but studies exploring children’s health-related behaviors that may assist in designing effective interventions are limited. We examined the association between overweight and obesity prevalence of 401 ethnically/racially diverse, rural school-aged children and healthy-lifestyle behaviors: improving diet quality, obtaining adequate sleep, limiting screen-time viewing, and consulting a physician about a child’s weight. Methods A cross-sectional analysis was conducted on a sample of school-aged children (6–11 years in rural regions of California, Kentucky, Mississippi, and South Carolina participating in CHANGE (Creating Healthy, Active, and Nurturing Growing-up Environments Program, created by Save the Children, an independent organization that works with communities to improve overall child health, with the objective to reduce unhealthy weight gain in these school-aged children (grades 1–6 in rural America. After measuring children’s height and weight, we17 assessed overweight and obesity (BMI ≥ 85th percentile associations with these behaviors: improving diet quality18 (≥ 2 servings of fruits and vegetables/day, reducing whole milk, sweetened beverage consumption/day; obtaining19 adequate night-time sleep on weekdays (≥ 10 hours/night; limiting screen-time (i.e., television, video, computer,20 videogame viewing on weekdays (≤ 2 hours/day; and consulting a physician about weight. Analyses were adjusted 21 for state of residence, children's race/ethnicity, gender, age, and government assistance. Results Overweight or obesity prevalence was 37 percent in Mississippi and nearly 60 percent in Kentucky. Adjusting for covariates, obese children were twice as likely to eat ≥ 2 servings of vegetables per day (OR=2.0,95% CI 1.1-3.4, less likely to consume whole milk (OR=0.4,95% CI 0.2-0.70, Their parents are more likely to

  18. Dietary sources and sociodemographic and lifestyle factors affecting vitamin D and calcium intakes in European adolescents: the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence (HELENA) Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Julián, Cristina; Mouratidou, Theodora; Vicente-Rodriguez, Germán; Gracia-Marco, Luis; Valtueña, Jara; González-Gross, Marcela; Ferrari, Marika; Gottrand, Frederic; Manios, Yannis; de la O, Alejandro; Widhalm, Kurt; Molnár, Dénes; Kafatos, Antonios; Sjöström, Michael; Kersting, Mathilde; Gunter, Marc J; De Henauw, Stefaan; Moreno, Luis A; Huybrechts, Inge

    2017-06-01

    To investigate dietary sources of Ca and vitamin D (VitD) intakes, and the associated sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, among European adolescents. Linear regression mixed models were used to examine sex-specific associations of Ca and VitD intakes with parental education, family affluence (FAS), physical activity and television (TV) watching while controlling for age, Tanner stage, energy intake and diet quality. The Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence (HELENA)Cross-Sectional Study. Adolescents aged 12·5-17·5 years (n 1804). Milk and cheese were the main sources of Ca (23 and 19 % contribution to overall Ca intake, respectively). Fish products were the main VitD source (30 % contribution to overall VitD intake). Ca intake was positively associated with maternal education (β=56·41; 95 % CI 1·98, 110·82) and negatively associated with TV viewing in boys (β=-0·43; 95 % CI -0·79, -0·07); however, the significance of these associations disappeared when adjusting for diet quality. In girls, Ca intake was positively associated with mother's (β=73·08; 95 % CI 34·41, 111·74) and father's education (β=43·29; 95 % CI 5·44, 81·14) and FAS (β=37·45; 95 % CI 2·25, 72·65). This association between Ca intake and mother's education remained significant after further adjustment for diet quality (β=41·66; 95 % CI 0·94, 82·38). Girls with high-educated mothers had higher Ca intake. Low-educated families with poor diet quality may be targeted when strategizing health promotion programmes to enhance dietary Ca.

  19. INTEGRAL APPROACHES TO TEACHING SENIOUR SCHOOLCHILDREN AND THEIR IMPACT ON DEVELOPMENT OF A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lyudmila N. Goncharova

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: the deterioration of health indicators among adolescents is an alarming tendency observed recently. The need for development of health-safeguarding behaviour in high school students of Saransk is obvious. The authors analysed the general health status of this group depending on implementation of various types of educational programmes in high schools. Materials and Methods: the data of arterial blood pressure, body mass index, food habits among high school students according to age, gender, nationality of schoolchildren and level of integration into educational programmes have been analysed. The research included 203 high school students from14 to 17 years old, 57 % boys and 43 % girls (grades 9 to 11 from two different schools of Saransk city with different educational programmes. Results: the research demonstrated a positive impact of sport programmes on health-preserving behaviour of high school students, resulted in stabilisation of arterial blood pressure, normal body mass and lower level of fast food consumption. Discussion and Conclusions: educational programmes focused on acceptance and implementation of healthy lifestyle could be considered as possible factors affecting health-preserving behaviour. The authors suggest paying more attention to these programmes’ inclusion into educational process.

  20. Life101 Enhances Healthy Lifestyle Choices in Pre-Health Undergraduate Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jafari, Mahtab

    2017-01-01

    Stress levels in college students are increasing at an alarmingly fast pace. To combat this rising tide, universities need effective tools to promote student well-being and help them to recognize and manage their stress. One approach is to teach students basic lifestyle skills to cope with stress and achieve wellness. This is important as it not…

  1. Lifestyle and reduced mortality among active California Mormons, 1980-2004.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Enstrom, James E; Breslow, Lester

    2008-02-01

    The objective is to measure the relationship of several healthy characteristics of the Mormon lifestyle to mortality. We examined 9815 religiously active California Mormon adults followed for mortality during 1980-2004 and 15,832 representative U.S. white adults enrolled in the 1987 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and followed for mortality during 1988-1997. The standardized mortality ratio (SMR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated relative to U.S. whites defined to have a SMR of 1.00. Active California Mormons practice a healthy lifestyle advocated by their religion, which emphasizes a strong family life, education and abstention from tobacco and alcohol. Unusually low SMRs occurred among married never smokers who attended church weekly and had at least 12 years of education. For those aged 25-99 years at entry, the SMR for all causes of death was 0.45 (0.42-0.48) for males and 0.55 (0.51-0.59) for females. For those aged 25-64 years at entry, the SMR for all causes of death was 0.36 (0.32-0.41) for males and 0.46 (0.40-0.53) for females. Life expectancy from age 25 was 84 years for males and 86 years for females. These SMRs were largely replicated among similarly defined persons of all religions within the NHIS cohort. Several healthy characteristics of the Mormon lifestyle are associated with substantially reduced death rates and increased life expectancy.

  2. Effectiveness of lifestyle intervention in subgroups of obese infertile women : a subgroup analysis of a RCT

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Oers, A M; Groen, H; Mutsaerts, M A Q; Burggraaff, J M; Kuchenbecker, W K H; Perquin, D A M; Koks, C A M; van Golde, R; Kaaijk, E M; Schierbeek, J M; Oosterhuis, G J E; Broekmans, F J; Vogel, N E A; Land, J A; Mol, B W J; Hoek, A

    2016-01-01

    STUDY QUESTION: Do age, ovulatory status, severity of obesity and body fat distribution affect the effectiveness of lifestyle intervention in obese infertile women? SUMMARY ANSWER: We did not identify a subgroup in which lifestyle intervention increased the healthy live birth rate however it did

  3. Stakeholder Perspectives on Barriers for Healthy Living for Low-income African American Families

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Veronnie Faye Jones

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: Childhood obesity is a growing problem for children in the United States, especially for children from low-income, African American families. Objective: The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand facilitators and barriers to engaging in healthy lifestyles faced by low-income African American children and their families. Methods: This qualitative study used semi-structured focus group interviews with eight African American children clinically identified as overweight or obese (BMI > 85 and their parents. An expert panel provided insights in developing culturally appropriate intervention strategies. Results: Child and parent focus group analysis revealed eleven barriers and no definitive facilitators for healthy eating and lifestyles. Parents reported confusion regarding what constitutes nutritional eating, varying needs of family members in terms of issues with weight, and difficulty in engaging the family in appropriate and safe physical activities; to name a few themes. Community experts independently suggested that nutritional information is confusing and, often, contradictory. Additionally, they recommended simple messaging and practical interventions such as helping with shopping lists, meal planning, and identifying simple and inexpensive physical activities.Conclusions: Childhood obesity in the context of low-resource families is a complex problem with no simple solutions. Culturally sensitive and family-informed interventions are needed to support low-income African American families in dealing with childhood obesity.

  4. Clients' experiences of a community based lifestyle modification program: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Ruth S M; Lok, Kris Y W; Sea, Mandy M M; Woo, Jean

    2009-10-01

    There is little information about how clients attending lifestyle modification programs view the outcomes. This qualitative study examined the clients' experience of a community based lifestyle modification program in Hong Kong. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 clients attending the program. Clients perceived the program had positive impacts on their health and nutrition knowledge. They experienced frustration, negative emotion, lack of motivation, and pressure from others during the program. Working environment and lack of healthy food choices in restaurants were the major perceived environmental barriers for lifestyle modification. Clients valued nutritionists' capability of providing professional information and psychological support in the program. Our results suggest that nutritionist's capability of providing quality consultations and patient-centered care are important for empowering clients achieve lifestyle modification.

  5. Analysis and Support of Lifestyle via Emotions Using Social Media

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Breda, Ward; Treur, Jan; van Wissen, Arlette

    2012-01-01

    Using recent insights from Cognitive, Affective and Social Neuroscience this paper addresses how affective states in social interactions can be used through social media to analyze and support behaviour for a certain lifestyle. A computational model is provided integrating mechanisms for the impact

  6. Lifestyle Behaviors in Metabolically Healthy and Unhealthy Overweight and Obese Women: A Preliminary Study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah M Camhi

    Full Text Available Few studies have examined dietary data or objective measures of physical activity (PA and sedentary behavior among metabolically healthy overweight/obese (MHO and metabolically unhealthy overweight/obese (MUO. Thus, the purpose is to determine whether PA, sedentary behavior and/or diet differ between MHO and MUO in a sample of young women.Forty-six overweight/obese (BMI ≥25 kg/m2 African American and Caucasian women 19-35 years were classified by cardiometabolic risk factors, including elevated blood pressure, triglyceride, glucose and C-reactive protein, low high density lipoprotein, and insulin resistance (MUO ≥2; MHO, <2. Time (mins/day in light, moderate, vigorous PA, and sedentary behavior were estimated using an accelerometer (≥3 days; ≥8 hrs wear time. Questionnaires were used to quantify sitting time, TV/computer use and usual daily activity. The Block Food Frequency Questionnaire assessed dietary food intake. Differences between MHO and MUO for lifestyle behaviors were tested with linear regression (continuous data or logistic regression (categorical data after adjusting for age, race, BMI, smoking and accelerometer wear and/or total kilocalories, as appropriate.Women were 26.7±4.7 years, with a mean BMI of 31.1±3.7 kg/m2, and 61% were African American. Compared to MUO (n = 9, MHO (n = 37; 80% spent less mins/day in sedentary behavior (difference: -58.1±25.5, p = 0.02, more mins/day in light PA (difference: 38.2±16.1, p = 0.02, and had higher daily METs (difference: 0.21±0.09, p = 0.03. MHO had higher fiber intakes (g/day of total fiber, soluble fiber, fruit/vegetable fiber, bean fiber and daily servings of vegetables; but lower daily dairy servings, saturated fat, monounsaturated fat and trans fats (g/day compared to MUO.Compared to MUO, MHO young women demonstrate healthier lifestyle habits with less sedentary behavior, more time in light PA, and healthier dietary quality for fat type and fiber. Future studies are needed

  7. Lifestyle of Employees working in Hamadan Departments: An Application of the Trans-Theoretical Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jalal Abdi

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Healthy lifestyle is a valuable source to reduce the prevalence of health problems and promoting health. Given the key role of employees as valuable human resources, the aim of this study was to evaluate lifestyle obesity and position of governmental employees in changing process based on the Trans-Theoretical Model (TTM in Hamadan. Materials & Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was performed on 1200 government employees selected using suitable stratified sampling. Data collection was performed using a three-section questionnaire containing demographic characteristics, FANTASTIC lifestyle questionnaire and Marcus et al.’s five-part questionnaire. Data was analyzed by correlation tests, Chi-square, T-test and ANOVA using SPSS-20. Results: Lifestyle status of most employees (61.7 percent was satisfying. About a half of the employees were in the preparatory stage of TTM. Considering the physical activity and healthy eating habits, most employees had a poor condition. Women had higher scores than men in most items. The associations between lifestyle and age, gender, work experience, income satisfaction and marital status were significant. Moreover, the associations between obesity and work experience, marital status, number of children and gender were significant (p<0.05. Conclusion: Planning health education interventions for employees through effective approaches seems to be necessary.

  8. Prostate cancer progression and mortality: a review of diet and lifestyle factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peisch, Sam F; Van Blarigan, Erin L; Chan, June M; Stampfer, Meir J; Kenfield, Stacey A

    2017-06-01

    To review and summarize evidence on the role of diet and lifestyle factors and prostate cancer progression, with a specific focus on habits after diagnosis and the risk of subsequent disease recurrence, progression, or death. Given the well-documented heterogeneity of prostate cancer and the long survivorship of the majority of diagnoses, our goal was to summarize and describe modifiable risk factors for clinically relevant prostate cancer. We focused where possible on epidemiologic studies of post-diagnostic habits and prostate cancer progression, defined as recurrence (e.g., PSA risk, secondary treatment), metastasis, or death. Where data were limited, we also describe evidence on risk factors and indicators of prostate cancer aggressiveness at diagnosis. A variety of dietary and lifestyle factors appear to affect prostate cancer progression. Several generally widely recommended lifestyle factors such as not smoking, maintaining a healthy body weight, and regular vigorous physical exercise also appear to affect prostate cancer progression. Several dietary factors, such as tomato sauce/lycopene, cruciferous vegetables, healthy sources of vegetable fats, and coffee, may also have a role in reducing risk of prostate cancer progression. Diet and lifestyle factors, in particular exercise and smoking cessation, may reduce the risk of prostate cancer progression and death. These promising findings warrant further investigation, as their overall impact might be large.

  9. Healthy lifestyle habits for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: A systemic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodríguez Huerta, Maria Dolores; Trujillo-Martín, Maria M; Rúa-Figueroa, Íñigo; Cuellar-Pompa, Leticia; Quirós-López, Raúl; Serrano-Aguilar, Pedro

    2016-02-01

    To assess the effects of lifestyle habits on the disease activity and damage, the occurrence of flares and quality of life of people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). A systematic literature review was performed. MEDLINE, EMBASE, and SCI/SSCI were searched. Experimental and observational studies evaluating the effect of lifestyles for SLE patients were included. Two independent reviewers selected studies and extracted relevant data. Critical appraisal of the studies was assessed following SIGN criteria. Eligibility criteria were met by 21 studies, five analyzed the effect of tobacco consumption, nine the effect of physical exercise and seven the effect of diet. Three studies on tobacco observed an association with increased SLE activity and the onset of cutaneous damage. The studies on physical exercise, of heterogeneous quality, reported that aerobic activity is safe for SLE patients, leading to an increase of tolerance to exercise, physical and functional capacity for those with moderate or low activity. A reduction in fatigue, anxiety and depression, as well as improved quality of life, is also suggested though evidence for these outcomes is limited. Better-quality studies on diet analyzed the effect of polyunsaturated fatty acids on disease activity. Three of the four randomized placebo-controlled trials revealed a positive effect both on overall SLE indices and individual symptoms that affect patients. Tobacco smoking increases the risk of skin damage and disease activity in patients with SLE. A diet rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, avoiding a sedentary lifestyle and supervised exercise should be recommended for patients with stable SLE. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Factors That Influence Campus Dwelling University Students' Facility to Practice Healthy Living Guidelines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walsh, Audrey; Taylor, Claudette; Brennick, Debbie

    2017-01-01

    Background Young adult university students living on campus are at an increased risk of developing lifestyle habits that encourage unintentional weight gain. Purpose The purpose of this study was to identify the individual and contextual factors that influence campus dwelling university students' facility to practice healthy living guidelines that reduce their risk of unintentional weight gain. Lifestyle practices included nutrition, physical activity, and sleep. Methods For seven days, 48 campus dwelling students recorded their activities and reflected on how closely they were able to follow recommended healthy living guidelines. Recorded data were supplemented by follow-up focus groups. All data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results Students described multiple factors and conditions that influenced their facility to practice healthy living guidelines for nutrition, activity, and sleep. Many students' lifestyle practices put them at an increased risk of unintentional weight gain. Conclusions The campus environment challenges student's facility to practice healthy living guidelines. Nurses can intervene to build individual student capacity and to advocate for environmental polices that increase students' facility to choose lifestyle practices that promote health, lessen their risk of unintentional weight gain, and reduce their risk of developing chronic illness.

  11. Discussing patient's lifestyle choices in the consulting room: analysis of GP-patient consultations between 1975 and 2008

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    van Dulmen Sandra

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The increasing prevalence of chronic diseases and the growing understanding that lifestyle behaviour plays an essential role in improving overall health suggest a need for increased attention to lifestyle choices in the consulting room. This study aims to examine whether or not healthy and unhealthy lifestyle choices of patients are currently being discussed more often in primary care consultations than in former decades. Furthermore, we are interested in GPs' approach to lifestyle behaviour during consultations. Lastly, we examine whether lifestyle behaviour is discussed more with certain patients during consultations, depending on gender, age and educational background. Method We analysed video-recordings of medical consultations, collected between 1975 and 2008 in Dutch GP practices. Data were analysed using logistic regression. Results This study shows that discussion of smoking behaviour and physical activity has increased somewhat over time. A change in discussion of nutrition and alcohol is, however, less clear. Overall, alcohol use is the least discussed and physical activity the most discussed during consultations. GPs mainly refer to lifestyle when it is relevant to the patient's complaints (symptom approach. GPs' approach to lifestyle behaviour did not change over time. In general, lifestyle behaviour is discussed more with older, male patients (except for nutrition. GPs talk about lifestyle behaviour with patients from different educational backgrounds equally (except for physical activity. Conclusion In recent years there is greater awareness of a healthy lifestyle, which is reflected to a limited extent in this study. Still, lifestyle behaviour is discussed in only a minority of consultations. GPs do not refer to lifestyle behaviour as a routine procedure, i.e. do not include it in primary prevention. This highlights the importance of the introduction of prevention consultations, where GPs can discuss lifestyle

  12. Do Hypertensive Individuals Who Are Aware of Their Disease Follow Lifestyle Recommendations Better than Those Who Are Not Aware?

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    Yuna Kim

    Full Text Available Lifestyle modification is the first step in hypertension management. Our objective was to assess adherence to lifestyle recommendations by individuals who were aware of their hypertension and to identify characteristics associated with non-adherence. Using data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted in 2010-2012, we compared the adherence to six lifestyle recommendations of hypertensive subjects aware of the status of their condition with that of those who were not aware, based on survey regression analysis. The characteristics associated with non-adherence were assessed by multiple logistic regression analysis. Of all hypertensive subjects, <20% adhered to a healthy diet and reduced salt intake and about 80% moderated alcohol consumption and did not smoke. Half of all subjects maintained normal body weight and engaged in physical activity. Most lifestyle features of aware hypertensive Koreans did not differ greatly from those of hypertensive individuals who were not aware. Reduction in salt intake was slightly more prevalent among those aware of their hypertensive status. Obesity was more prevalent among the aware hypertensive subjects, and the prevalence of obesity increased with the duration of hypertension. Male gender, younger age, residence in a rural area, low income, and the use of antihypertensive medication were associated with non-adherence to lifestyle recommendations by hypertensive individuals. Many hypertensive Koreans do not comply with lifestyle recommendations for the management of hypertension. The association between the use of antihypertensive medications and non-adherence suggested an over-reliance on medication rather than a commitment to a healthy lifestyle. Our study highlights that efforts encouraging healthy lifestyles, as the first step in hypertension management, need to be increased.

  13. Occupational lifestyle diseases: An emerging issue.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Mukesh; Majumdar, P K

    2009-12-01

    Lifestyle diseases characterize those diseases whose occurrence is primarily based on the daily habits of people and are a result of an inappropriate relationship of people with their environment. The main factors contributing to lifestyle diseases include bad food habits, physical inactivity, wrong body posture, and disturbed biological clock. A report, jointly prepared by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Economic Forum, says India will incur an accumulated loss of $236.6 billion by 2015 on account of unhealthy lifestyles and faulty diet. According to the report, 60% of all deaths worldwide in 2005 (35 million) resulted from noncommunicable diseases and accounted for 44% of premature deaths. What's worse, around 80% of these deaths will occur in low and middle-income countries like India which are also crippled by an ever increasing burden of infectious diseases, poor maternal and perinatal conditions and nutritional deficiencies. According to a survey conducted by the Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ASSOC-HAM), 68% of working women in the age bracket of 21-52 years were found to be afflicted with lifestyle ailments such as obesity, depression, chronic backache, diabetes and hypertension. The study 'Preventive Healthcare and Corporate Female Workforce' also said that long hours and working under strict deadlines cause up to 75% of working women to suffer from depression or general anxiety disorder, compared to women with lesser levels of psychological demand at work. The study cited scientific evidence that healthy diet and adequate physical activity - at least 30 minutes of moderate activity at least five days a week - helped prevent NCDs. In India, 10% of adults suffer from hypertension while the country is home to 25-30 million diabetics. Three out of every 1,000 people suffer a stroke. The number of deaths due to heart attack is projected to increase from 1.2 million to 2 million in 2010. The diet [or lifestyle] of different

  14. Is change in health behavior of Dutch medical students related to change in their ideas on how a physician's lifestyle influences their patient's lifestyle?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ketelaar, Sarah M.; Frings-Dresen, Monique H. W.; Sluiter, Judith K.

    2014-01-01

    A change of medical students' health behavior over time may be related to a change in their opinion regarding the relationship between physicians' own health behavior and effective healthy lifestyle counseling in patients. To investigate Dutch medical students' (1) change of health behavior over

  15. Health-related behaviors in women with lifestyle-related diseases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kozica, Samantha L; Deeks, Amanda A; Gibson-Helm, Melanie E; Teede, Helena J; Moran, Lisa J

    2012-01-01

    Lifestyle related diseases associated with physical inactivity and poor diet quality, represent a major health burden. This study assessed negative and positive health habits and health care utilization in healthy women (n = 50) and women with lifestyle related diseases such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) (n = 50), gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) (n = 44) and type 2 diabetes (DM2) (n = 43). A significant difference existed across groups for negative health habits (P = .012) with a trend for positive health habits (P = .06) elevated in women with PCOS. Women with DM2 had the highest amount of health care utilization including doctors office visits (P women with DM2 but there were no differences in positive health habits across sub-groups. Encouraging lifestyle modification in women with precursor diseases such as GDM and PCOS is vital in order to prevent progression to DM2.

  16. User experience integrated life-style cloud-based medical application.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Serban, Alexandru; Lupşe, Oana Sorina; Stoicu-Tivadar, Lăcrămioara

    2015-01-01

    Having a modern application capable to automatically collect and process data from users, based on information and lifestyle answers is one of current challenges for researchers and medical science. The purpose of the current study is to integrate user experience design (UXD) in a cloud-based medical application to improve patient safety, quality of care and organizational efficiency. The process consists of collecting traditional and new data from patients and users using online questionnaires. A questionnaire dynamically asks questions about the user's current diet and lifestyle. After the user will introduce the data, the application will formulate a presumptive nutritional plan and will suggest different medical recommendations regarding a healthy lifestyle, and calculates a risk factor for diseases. This software application, by design and usability will be an efficient tool dedicated for fitness, nutrition and health professionals.

  17. Potentially modifiable lifestyle factors, cognitive reserve, and cognitive function in later life: A cross-sectional study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Linda Clare

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Potentially modifiable lifestyle factors may influence cognitive health in later life and offer potential to reduce the risk of cognitive decline and dementia. The concept of cognitive reserve has been proposed as a mechanism to explain individual differences in rates of cognitive decline, but its potential role as a mediating pathway has seldom been explored using data from large epidemiological studies. We explored the mediating effect of cognitive reserve on the cross-sectional association between lifestyle factors and cognitive function in later life using data from a population-based cohort of healthy older people.We analysed data from 2,315 cognitively healthy participants aged 65 y and over in the Cognitive Function and Ageing Study Wales (CFAS-Wales cohort collected in 2011-2013. Linear regression modelling was used to investigate the overall associations between five lifestyle factors-cognitive and social activity, physical activity, diet, alcohol consumption, and smoking-and cognition, adjusting for demographic factors and chronic conditions. Mediation analysis tested for indirect effects of the lifestyle factors on cognition via cognitive reserve. After controlling for age, gender, and the presence of chronic conditions, cognitive and social activity, physical activity, healthy diet, and light-to-moderate alcohol consumption were positively associated with cognitive function, together accounting for 20% (95% CI 17%-23% of variance in cognitive test scores. Cognitive reserve was an important mediator of this association, with indirect effects via cognitive reserve contributing 21% (95% CI 15%-27% of the overall effect on cognition. The main limitations of the study derive from the cross-sectional nature of the data and the challenges of accurately measuring the latent construct of cognitive reserve.Cross-sectional associations support the view that enhancing cognitive reserve may benefit cognition, and maintenance of cognitive health

  18. Potentially modifiable lifestyle factors, cognitive reserve, and cognitive function in later life: A cross-sectional study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Yu-Tzu

    2017-01-01

    Background Potentially modifiable lifestyle factors may influence cognitive health in later life and offer potential to reduce the risk of cognitive decline and dementia. The concept of cognitive reserve has been proposed as a mechanism to explain individual differences in rates of cognitive decline, but its potential role as a mediating pathway has seldom been explored using data from large epidemiological studies. We explored the mediating effect of cognitive reserve on the cross-sectional association between lifestyle factors and cognitive function in later life using data from a population-based cohort of healthy older people. Methods and findings We analysed data from 2,315 cognitively healthy participants aged 65 y and over in the Cognitive Function and Ageing Study Wales (CFAS-Wales) cohort collected in 2011–2013. Linear regression modelling was used to investigate the overall associations between five lifestyle factors—cognitive and social activity, physical activity, diet, alcohol consumption, and smoking—and cognition, adjusting for demographic factors and chronic conditions. Mediation analysis tested for indirect effects of the lifestyle factors on cognition via cognitive reserve. After controlling for age, gender, and the presence of chronic conditions, cognitive and social activity, physical activity, healthy diet, and light-to-moderate alcohol consumption were positively associated with cognitive function, together accounting for 20% (95% CI 17%–23%) of variance in cognitive test scores. Cognitive reserve was an important mediator of this association, with indirect effects via cognitive reserve contributing 21% (95% CI 15%–27%) of the overall effect on cognition. The main limitations of the study derive from the cross-sectional nature of the data and the challenges of accurately measuring the latent construct of cognitive reserve. Conclusions Cross-sectional associations support the view that enhancing cognitive reserve may benefit cognition

  19. The Relationship between Lifestyle and Pain in Patients with Spinal Disc Herniation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monireh Dadashzadeh

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Due to the rapid growth of the industries and constantly involvement of the new technologies into the human lives, the lifestyles of the people are altering. Simultaneously few new disorders in their lifestyles and diseases in their lives are also emerging. The spinal cord abnormalities i.e., the spinal disc herniation and/or low back pain is one of them which have made the life of some people very miserable (Farahani et al., 2012. Indeed the overall lifestyle of a human being regulates the musculoskeletal symptoms. Differences in lifestyle and psychosocial factors associated with individuals' lifestyle are effective in experiencing the level of pressure in musculoskeletal systems. Studies related to the lifestyle and musculoskeletal system, including pain and inflammation, are largely correlate (Mikkonen et al., 2015. Proper knowledge regarding the relationship between lifestyle and spinal disc herniation is very important. Social habits such as diet, exercise, weight gain, anxiety, and depression can cause changes in the spinal cord and spinal disc herniation (Kadow et al., 2014. Further, some of the lifestyle parameters such as smoking, nutrition, BMI, level of activity, sleep status, stress, and anxiety are also seen to reduce the need for medication or avoid and reduce musculoskeletal pain (Dean et al., 2015. As per Bohman et al. (2014 people with a healthy lifestyle suffer 66% less from low back pain than those who have unhealthy lifestyles.

  20. Clients’ Experiences of a Community Based Lifestyle Modification Program: A Qualitative Study

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    Jean Woo

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available There is little information about how clients attending lifestyle modification programs view the outcomes. This qualitative study examined the clients’ experience of a community based lifestyle modification program in Hong Kong. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 clients attending the program. Clients perceived the program had positive impacts on their health and nutrition knowledge. They experienced frustration, negative emotion, lack of motivation, and pressure from others during the program. Working environment and lack of healthy food choices in restaurants were the major perceived environmental barriers for lifestyle modification. Clients valued nutritionists’ capability of providing professional information and psychological support in the program. Our results suggest that nutritionist’s capability of providing quality consultations and patient-centered care are important for empowering clients achieve lifestyle modification.

  1. The relationship between lifestyle regularity and subjective sleep quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monk, Timothy H.; Reynolds, Charles F 3rd; Buysse, Daniel J.; DeGrazia, Jean M.; Kupfer, David J.

    2003-01-01

    In previous work we have developed a diary instrument-the Social Rhythm Metric (SRM), which allows the assessment of lifestyle regularity-and a questionnaire instrument--the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), which allows the assessment of subjective sleep quality. The aim of the present study was to explore the relationship between lifestyle regularity and subjective sleep quality. Lifestyle regularity was assessed by both standard (SRM-17) and shortened (SRM-5) metrics; subjective sleep quality was assessed by the PSQI. We hypothesized that high lifestyle regularity would be conducive to better sleep. Both instruments were given to a sample of 100 healthy subjects who were studied as part of a variety of different experiments spanning a 9-yr time frame. Ages ranged from 19 to 49 yr (mean age: 31.2 yr, s.d.: 7.8 yr); there were 48 women and 52 men. SRM scores were derived from a two-week diary. The hypothesis was confirmed. There was a significant (rho = -0.4, p subjects with higher levels of lifestyle regularity reported fewer sleep problems. This relationship was also supported by a categorical analysis, where the proportion of "poor sleepers" was doubled in the "irregular types" group as compared with the "non-irregular types" group. Thus, there appears to be an association between lifestyle regularity and good sleep, though the direction of causality remains to be tested.

  2. Healty lifestyles a fundamental rigth on human being life

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jorge Salas Cabrera

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the impact of certain lifestyles in our daily lives, and to reference some of them, among which are a sedentary lifestyle, diet, physical activity, social and family support, and the impact they have on people’ quality of life. It is clear that as a human beings, the developments in everyday life are addressed by duties and rights that affect our way of living, hence all individuals should enjoy the right to a better quality of life; to achieve this, it is necessary to maintain healthy lifestyle habits that create mechanisms to protect people against the development of chronic degenerative diseases. Historically it has been shown that people who have unhealthy life habits develop over time no only hypokinetic diseases, but also neurological ones such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Under this scenario this paper is intended to present clear and concise information about what lifestyles represent to people and their importance as a right for everyone who decides to adapt them to their daily lives.

  3. Dietary habits and lifestyle among adolescents in Damascus, Syria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Musaiger, Abdulrahman; Kalam, Faiza

    2014-01-01

    Dietary and lifestyle behaviours among adolescents are risk factors for several chronic diseases in adulthood. To examine the differences in dietary habits and lifestyle between male and female adolescents in Syria. A cross-sectional multi-stage stratified sampling study was carried out on adolescents, 15-18-years-old, in Damascus, Syria. The total sample selected was 365 (178 males and 187 females). Data were collected with a pretested questionnaire. There were significant differences between males and females in the frequency of intake of vegetables, milk and dairy products, red meat, sugary beverages and fast foods. Females were more likely to skip breakfast than males (52.4% vs. 43%), but the difference was not statistically significant. Males were significantly more likely to consume larger portions of fast foods and soft drinks. Significant differences were found between genders in eating while watching television, hours using Internet, practicing physical activity and emotional eating. A significant variation between male and female Syrian adolescents in their food habits and lifestyle was observed. Interventions should consider the gender differences to promote a healthy lifestyle for schoolchildren in Syria.

  4. Healthy active living for children and youth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2002-05-01

    Poor lifestyle habits, such as unhealthy eating and physical inactivity, are major contributors to increased adult morbidity and mortality from chronic diseases. Over the past decade there has been an increase in sedentary lifestyle and obesity in children and adolescents, both in North America and worldwide. Physicians need to be aware of the scope of this problem, provide anticipatory guidance to families and promote healthy active living in their practices.

  5. A cross-sectional survey on the lifestyle and healthseeking ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Objectives: The objectives of the study were to determine the level of practice of a healthy lifestyle, to assess the health education provided to patients with diabetes and to determine the prevalence of obesity among Basotho patients with diabetes. Design: A cross-sectional study enrolled 192 patients between November ...

  6. Lifestyle modification in the management of the metabolic syndrome: achievements and challenges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dalle Grave, Riccardo; Calugi, Simona; Centis, Elena; Marzocchi, Rebecca; El Ghoch, Marwan; Marchesini, Giulio

    2010-11-02

    Lifestyle modification based on behavior therapy is the most important and effective strategy to manage the metabolic syndrome. Modern lifestyle modification therapy combines specific recommendations on diet and exercise with behavioral and cognitive strategies. The intervention may be delivered face-to-face or in groups, or in groups combined with individual sessions. The main challenge of treatment is helping patients maintain healthy behavior changes in the long term. In the last few years, several strategies have been evaluated to improve the long-term effect of lifestyle modification. Promising results have been achieved by combining lifestyle modification with pharmacotherapy, using meals replacement, setting higher physical activity goals, and long-term care. The key role of cognitive processes in the success/failure of weight loss and maintenance suggests that new cognitive procedures and strategies should be included in the traditional lifestyle modification interventions, in order to help patients build a mind-set favoring long-term lifestyle changes. These new strategies raise optimistic expectations for an effective treatment of metabolic syndrome with lifestyle modifications, provided public health programs to change the environment where patients live support them.

  7. Intensive lifestyle intervention provides rapid reduction of serum fatty acid levels in women with severe obesity without lowering omega-3 to unhealthy levels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, C; Andersen, J R; Våge, V; Rajalahti, T; Mjøs, S A; Kvalheim, O M

    2016-08-01

    Serum fatty acid (FA) levels were monitored in women with severe obesity during intensive lifestyle intervention. At baseline, total FA levels and most individual FAs were elevated compared to a matching cohort of normal and overweight women (healthy controls). After 3 weeks of intensive lifestyle intervention, total level was only 11-12% higher than in the healthy controls and with almost all FAs being significantly lower than at baseline, but with levels of omega-3 being similar to the healthy controls. This is contrary to observations for patients subjected to bariatric surgery where omega-3 levels dropped to levels significantly lower than in the lifestyle patients and healthy controls. During the next 3 weeks of treatment, the FA levels in lifestyle patients were unchanged, while the weight loss continued at almost the same rate as in the first 3 weeks. Multivariate analysis revealed that weight loss and change of serum FA patterns were unrelated outcomes of the intervention for lifestyle patients. For bariatric patients, these processes were associated probably due to reduced dietary input and increased input from the patients' own fat deposits, causing a higher rate of weight loss and simultaneous reduction of the ratio of serum eicosapentaenoic to arachidonic acid. © 2016 World Obesity.

  8. Creation of University Wellness Program Healthy Eating and Active Lifestyle Supports: A Knowledge-to-Action Process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joy, Phillip; Mann, Linda; Blotnicky, Karen

    2018-03-01

    With the burdens that preventable health conditions place on individuals, workplaces, and society, workplace wellness programs (WWP) are critical to ensuring employees have access to health promotion supports tailored to their work environments. Such programs are best guided by a knowledge-to-action (KTA) framework; a theoretically grounded, systematic process that considers the ongoing exchange of knowledge with employees to engage them in health behaviour change and to garner employers' support for the interventions. Therefore the purpose of this project was to develop, implement, and evaluate WWP healthy eating and active lifestyle supports at a university. A KTA process guided the consultations with employees and stakeholders that led to the development and implementation of a range of resource effective supports and the incorporation of wellness in the organization culture. A key support was the Wellness Passport that encouraged participation in scheduled WWP activities, as well as allowing for self-identified ones. Quality assurance assessments demonstrated a desire for a continuation of these WWP supports and activities. Dietitians, as health promotion leaders, can play key roles in the emerging field of WWPs. University dietetic and internship programs should consider adding WWP and KTA training components.

  9. Supporting parents of preschool children in adopting a healthy lifestyle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lemelin, Lucie; Gallagher, Frances; Haggerty, Jeannie

    2012-08-01

    Childhood obesity is a public health epidemic. In Canada 21.5% of children aged 2-5 are overweight, with psychological and physical consequences for the child and economic consequences for society. Parents often do not view their children as overweight. One way to prevent overweight is to adopt a healthy lifestyle (HL). Nurses with direct access to young families could assess overweight and support parents in adopting HL. But what is the best way to support them if they do not view their child as overweight? A better understanding of parents' representation of children's overweight might guide the development of solutions tailored to their needs. This study uses an action research design, a participatory approach mobilizing all stakeholders around a problem to be solved. The general objective is to identify, with nurses working with families, ways to promote HL among parents of preschoolers. Specific objectives are to: 1) describe the prevalence of overweight in preschoolers at vaccination time; 2) describe the representation of overweight and HL, as reported by preschoolers' parents; 3) explore the views of nurses working with young families regarding possible solutions that could become a clinical tool to promote HL; and 4) try to identify a direction concerning the proposed strategies that could be used by nurses working with this population. First, an epidemiological study will be conducted in vaccination clinics: 288 4-5-year-olds will be weighed and measured. Next, semi-structured interviews will be conducted with 20 parents to describe their representation of HL and their child's weight. Based on the results from these two steps, by means of a focus group nurses will identify possible strategies to the problem. Finally, focus groups of parents, then nurses and finally experts will give their opinions of these strategies in order to find a direction for these strategies. Descriptive and correlational statistical analyses will be done on the quantitative

  10. A controlled, class-based multicomponent intervention to promote healthy lifestyle and to reduce the burden of childhood obesity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Centis, E; Marzocchi, R; Di Luzio, R; Moscatiello, S; Salardi, S; Villanova, N; Marchesini, G

    2012-12-01

    Overweight and obesity prevention in childhood and adolescence represent a priority for public health; school is a privileged place for health promotion interventions. The study aimed to test the effectiveness of a multicomponent 5-month intervention on the habits of primary school children, making the families aware of the importance of healthy choices. Two hundred nine children attending the fourth class of primary school, divided into interventional (n = 103) and control arm (n = 106) were included in the study. In the intervention group, parents and teachers received more intense lifestyle counseling, associated with weekly motivational telephone calls to families to motivate further their lifestyle changes. Standard deviation score (SDS) body mass index (BMI) was the primary outcome measure; on open-air games and TV watching were secondary outcomes. At baseline, no differences were observed between groups. At 8-month follow-up, mean SDS BMI had decreased by 0.06 units in the intervention arm and increased by 0.12 in controls (time × treatment anova, P < 0.002). Outdoor activities increased from 6.23 h week(-1) to 9.93 in the intervention group (P < 0.001), not in controls. This change was associated differences in TV watching from baseline (intervention, -0.96 h week(-1); P = 0.037; controls, +1.33 h week(-1); P = 0.031). A multicomponent school-based intervention addressing the needs of children, teachers and families produced a significant and favourable short-term effect on overweight/obese schoolchildren. © 2012 The Authors. Pediatric Obesity © 2012 International Association for the Study of Obesity.

  11. A School-Based, Peer-Led, Social Marketing Intervention To Engage Spanish Adolescents in a Healthy Lifestyle ("We Are Cool"-Som la Pera Study): A Parallel-Cluster Randomized Controlled Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aceves-Martins, Magaly; Llauradó, Elisabet; Tarro, Lucia; Moriña, David; Papell-Garcia, Ignasi; Prades-Tena, Jordi; Kettner-Høeberg, Helle; Puiggròs, Francesc; Arola, Lluís; Davies, Amy; Giralt, Montse; Solà, Rosa

    2017-08-01

    Encouraging adolescents to adopt healthy lifestyles can be challenging. The aim of the "Som la Pera" study was to engage adolescents by applying new strategies to increase both their fruit and vegetable consumption and their physical activity (PA) while reducing their sedentary behavior. In disadvantaged neighborhoods of Reus (Spain), two high schools were randomly assigned to the intervention (n = 170 adolescents 13- to 16-year-olds) and two were assigned to the control group (n = 223 adolescents 13- to 16-year-olds). The intervention, which lasted 12 months and spanned 2 academic years (2013-2015), used social marketing (SM) to improve healthy choices. The peer-led strategy involved 5 adolescents who designed and implemented 10 activities as challenges for their 165 school-aged peers. The control group received no intervention. To assess self-reported lifestyles in both groups, the Health Behavior in School-Aged Children Survey was used at baseline and end of study. After 12 months, intervention adolescents showed an increase of 28.9% in ≥1 fruit/day (p < 0.01) and of 18.5% in ≥6 hours/week of PA (p < 0.01) compared with controls. Additionally, intervention group males had an increase of 28.8% in ≥1 vegetable/day (p < 0.01) and of 15.6% in ≤2 hours/day of sedentary activity (p = 0.01) compared with controls. A school-based, peer-led, SM intervention developed by adolescents attending high schools in low-income neighborhoods effectively improved the healthy choices of their school-aged peers, leading to increased fruit consumption and PA in adolescents of both genders. Furthermore, adolescent males were more sensitive to improvements in healthy choices, showing increased vegetable consumption and decreased sedentary behavior.

  12. The analysis of the medical university students’ health condition and lifestyle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    OLGA KHURS

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Significant psychophysiological burdens and unhealthy lifestyle constitute the risk factors leading to students’ health deterioration. Purpose: The purpose of the research was the analysis of students’ health condition and lifestyle in medical university. Material and methods: The objects of the research were 100 third year students of the Faculties of General Medicine and Pediatrics of Grodno State Medical University. For the study of students’ orientation on healthy lifestyle, a special scale-type questionnaire was developed and used. Results: According to the respondents’ opinions it has been detected that the basic factors influencing the state of health are the lifestyle and the living conditions. The students activity is evaluated as very low as well as their rational nutrition. The majority of them smoke and drink alcohol. Conclusions: The peculiarities of studying at a medical university accompanied by imbalanced nutrition might lead to the deterioration of health in the students which are doctors to be. The results ought to lead to the optimization of prophylaxis programs and entire alteration of the students’ lifestyles.

  13. Context before implementation: a qualitative study of decision makers' views of a peer-led healthy lifestyle intervention for people with serious mental illness in supportive housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cabassa, Leopoldo J; Stefancic, Ana

    2018-04-04

    People with serious mental illness die at an earlier age than people in the general population largely due to cardiovascular disease. Healthy lifestyle interventions can help reduce this health inequity. In this qualitative study, we examined the perceptions that decision makers in supportive housing agencies had toward a peer-led healthy lifestyle intervention and their views of contextual factors that could shape implementation at these agencies. A purposive sample of 12 decision makers from three supportive housing agencies was recruited. We presented participants a vignette describing our peer-led intervention and used semistructured qualitative interviews to examine their views. Interviews were recorded, professionally transcribed, and analyzed using directed content analysis. Participants reported positive views toward the intervention with the most valued intervention attributes being relative advantage over existing services, compatibility to clients' needs, ability to pilot the intervention, and cost. A model emerged from our data depicting multilevel contextual factors believed to shape the implementation of our intervention at these agencies, including system- (funding, marketability, and external regulations), organization- (leadership support, fit with organization, staff buy-in and burden), and client-level (adaptability to clients' needs, and clients' buy-in) factors. Study findings illustrate the importance of understanding the context of practice before implementation. This examination can help identify critical views from decision makers that could undermine or advance the integration of peer-led interventions in supportive housing agencies and help identify structures, policies, and organizational practices that can inform the implementation process.

  14. Discussing patient’s lifestyle choices in the consulting room: analysis of GP-patient consultations between 1975 and 2008.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Noordman, J.; Verhaak, P.; Dulmen, S. van

    2010-01-01

    Background: The increasing prevalence of chronic diseases and the growing understanding that lifestyle behaviour plays an essential role in improving overall health suggest a need for increased attention to lifestyle choices in the consulting room. This study aims to examine whether or not healthy

  15. A Healthy Brain in a Healthy Body: Brain Network Correlates of Physical and Mental Fitness.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Douw, L.; Nieboer, D.; van Dijk, B.W.; Stam, C.J.; Twisk, J.W.R.

    2014-01-01

    A healthy lifestyle is an important focus in today's society. The physical benefits of regular exercise are abundantly clear, but physical fitness is also associated with better cognitive performance. How these two factors together relate to characteristics of the brain is still incompletely

  16. Examining the physical health and lifestyle of young people at ultra-high risk for psychosis: A qualitative study involving service users, parents and clinicians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carney, Rebekah; Cotter, Jack; Bradshaw, Tim; Yung, Alison R

    2017-09-01

    Emerging evidence suggests young people at ultra-high risk for psychosis (UHR) are also at-risk for poor physical health, and display high rates of modifiable cardiometabolic risk factors. However, before we can develop effective interventions there is a need to understand factors affecting lifestyle choices in the UHR group. We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with 20 UHR individuals (50% male; mean age 21.7), 5 parents (4 mothers, 1 father), and 6 clinicians from early intervention services in the Northwest of England to identify barriers and facilitators to living a healthy lifestyle, including achieving regular exercise, eating well and refraining from excessive substance use. Thematic analysis revealed the main barriers to living a healthy lifestyle related to psychiatric symptoms, beliefs about self, social withdrawal and practical considerations such as accessibility and cost. Provision of social support and promoting autonomy emerged as the two main themes which would facilitate a healthy lifestyle. Promoting physical health in people with emerging symptoms of psychosis is an important, yet neglected area of mental health practice and warrants further investigation. UHR individuals experience numerous barriers to living a healthy lifestyle, and interventions should focus primarily on targeting autonomous motivation and providing social support to facilitate this change. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  17. Understanding Arthritis Promoting Healthy Lifestyles for Older Adults

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tremethick, Mary Jane; Hogan, Patricia I.; Coleman, Barb; Adams, Kady

    2010-01-01

    One of the goals of "Healthy People 2010" is to decrease the incidence of limitation in physical activity due to arthritis. Physical education, recreation, and dance professionals can play an important role in meeting this objective by addressing barriers to physical activity and exercise in older adults with arthritis, and by successfully…

  18. Healthy weight and lifestyle advertisements: an assessment of their persuasive potential.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dixon, Helen; Scully, Maree; Cotter, Trish; Maloney, Sarah; Wakefield, Melanie

    2015-08-01

    This study aimed to identify and analyse the content of previously produced and aired adult-targeted public health advertisements (ads) addressing weight, nutrition or physical activity internationally. Ads were identified via keyword searches of Google, YouTube and websites of relevant government agencies and health organizations, and were eligible for inclusion if they were: in English; produced between 2007 and 2012; targeted at adults; ≤60 s; not promoting a particular commercial brand of food, fitness or weight loss product. Of the 99 ads coded, 59% featured supportive/encouraging messages, 36% presented information about health consequences and 17% focussed on social norms/acceptability issues. Supportive/encouraging messages were more frequently used in physical activity ads, while there were a higher proportion of messages about health consequences in weight ads. Execution style differed across lifestyle topics, with simulation/animation more common in nutrition ads and graphic images and negative personal testimonials in weight ads. Ads addressing weight were more likely to evoke high negative emotion and include potentially stigmatizing content. Understanding how weight and lifestyle issues have been addressed in recent public health advertising will help guide future efforts to test the effectiveness of different message types in facilitating positive behaviour changes. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  19. An exploration of lifestyle beliefs and lifestyle behaviour following stroke: findings from a focus group study of patients and family members.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawrence, Maggie; Kerr, Susan; Watson, Hazel; Paton, Gillian; Ellis, Graham

    2010-12-08

    Stroke is a major cause of disability and family disruption and carries a high risk of recurrence. Lifestyle factors that increase the risk of recurrence include smoking, unhealthy diet, excessive alcohol consumption and physical inactivity. Guidelines recommend that secondary prevention interventions, which include the active provision of lifestyle information, should be initiated in hospital, and continued by community-based healthcare professionals (HCPs) following discharge. However, stroke patients report receiving little/no lifestyle information.There is a limited evidence-base to guide the development and delivery of effective secondary prevention lifestyle interventions in the stroke field. This study, which was underpinned by the Theory of Planned Behaviour, sought to explore the beliefs and perceptions of patients and family members regarding the provision of lifestyle information following stroke. We also explored the influence of beliefs and attitudes on behaviour. We believe that an understanding of these issues is required to inform the content and delivery of effective secondary prevention lifestyle interventions. We used purposive sampling to recruit participants through voluntary sector organizations (29 patients, including 7 with aphasia; 20 family members). Using focus group methods, data were collected in four regions of Scotland (8 group discussions) and were analysed thematically. Although many participants initially reported receiving no lifestyle information, further exploration revealed that most had received written information. However, it was often provided when people were not receptive, there was no verbal reinforcement, and family members were rarely involved, even when the patient had aphasia. Participants believed that information and advice regarding healthy lifestyle behaviour was often confusing and contradictory and that this influenced their behavioural intentions. Family members and peers exerted both positive and negative

  20. Dietary habits and lifestyle among adolescents in Damascus, Syria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdulrahman Musaiger

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available introduction. Dietary and lifestyle behaviours among adolescents are risk factors for several chronic diseases in adulthood. objective. To examine the differences in dietary habits and lifestyle between male and female adolescents in Syria. materials and method. A cross-sectional multi-stage stratified sampling study was carried out on adolescents, 15–18-years-old, in Damascus, Syria. The total sample selected was 365 (178 males and 187 females. Data were collected with a pretested questionnaire. results. There were significant differences between males and females in the frequency of intake of vegetables, milk and dairy products, red meat, sugary beverages and fast foods. Females were more likely to skip breakfast than males (52.4% vs. 43%, but the difference was not statistically significant. Males were significantly more likely to consume larger portions of fast foods and soft drinks. Significant differences were found between genders in eating while watching television, hours using Internet, practicing physical activity and emotional eating. conclusion. A significant variation between male and female Syrian adolescents in their food habits and lifestyle was observed. Interventions should consider the gender differences to promote a healthy lifestyle for schoolchildren in Syria.

  1. Let us Get Real! Integrated Approach for Virtual Coaching and Real Time Activity Monitoring in Lifestyle Change Support Systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kulyk, Olga Anatoliyivna; op den Akker, Hendrikus J.A.; Klaassen, Randy; van Gemert-Pijnen, Julia E.W.C.; Hettinga, M; Smedberg, A

    There is a fast growing number of eHealth systems aiming at supporting a healthy lifestyle. Tailored lifestyle coaching services offer individual users access to web portals where they can communicate about a growing number of ingredients of everyday life concern: physical activity, nutrition,

  2. Do singles or couples live healthier lifestyles? Trends in Queensland between 2005-2014.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schoeppe, Stephanie; Vandelanotte, Corneel; Rebar, Amanda L; Hayman, Melanie; Duncan, Mitch J; Alley, Stephanie J

    2018-01-01

    To compare the frequency of and trends in healthy lifestyle factors between singles and couples. Cross-sectional data from annual surveys conducted from 2005-2014 were used. The pooled sample included 15,001 Australian adults (mean age: 52.9 years, 50% male, 74% couples) who participated in the annual Queensland Social Survey via computer-assisted telephone interviews. Relationship status was dichotomised into single and couple. Binary logistic regression was used to assess associations between relationship status, and the frequency of and trends in healthy lifestyle factors. Compared to singles, couples were significantly more likely to be a non-smoker (OR = 1.82), and meet recommendations for limited fast food (OR = 1.12), alcohol consumption (OR = 1.27) and fruit and vegetable intake (OR = 1.24). Fruit and vegetable intake was not significantly associated with relationship status after adjusting for the other healthy lifestyle factors. Conversely, couples were significantly less likely to be within a normal weight range (OR = 0.81). In both singles and couples, the trend data revealed significant declines in the rates of normal weight (singles: OR = 0.97, couples: OR = 0.97) and viewing TV for less than 14 hours per week (singles: OR = 0.85, couples: OR = 0.84), whilst non-smoking rates significantly increased (singles: OR = 1.12, couples: OR = 1.03). The BMI trend was no longer significant when adjusting for health behaviours. Further, in couples, rates of meeting recommendations for physical activity and fruit/vegetable consumption significantly decreased (OR = 0.97 and OR = 0.95, respectively), as did rates of eating no fast food (OR = 0.96). These trends were not significant when adjusting for the other healthy lifestyle factors. In singles, rates of meeting alcohol recommendations significantly increased (OR = 1.08). Health behaviour interventions are needed in both singles and couples, but relationship status needs to be considered in interventions

  3. Evidence-based lifestyle interventions in the workplace--an overview.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schröer, S; Haupt, J; Pieper, C

    2014-01-01

    Lifestyle-related health issues affect the economic position of organizations and contribute to reduced productivity, increased absenteeism and health care costs. To summarize the effectiveness of different workplace health interventions for promoting healthy lifestyle, preventing diseases and reducing health care costs. We searched MEDLINE via Pubmed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, NelH, HighWire Press and Google Scholar in March 2012. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of workplace interventions aimed at promoting physical activity, healthy weight and good nutrition were included. Three authors assessed the quality of the reviews and extracted data on methods, interventions, outcomes, results and effect sizes. We identified 15 publications covering a total of 379 original studies. Three systematic reviews found beneficial effects of workplace nutrition interventions on employees' dietary behaviour. Three reviews found multi-component physical activity interventions to be effective in increasing employees' physical activity and fitness. The other activity promotion interventions were less effective regarding physical activity and weight-related outcomes. In terms of weight management, our findings favour multi-component interventions that focus on both physical activity and nutrition over single dietary programmes. Workplace health promotion interventions may improve physical activity, dietary behaviour and healthy weight. There is no evidence of increased efficacy associated with specific intervention types. Workplace health promotion should focus on either physical activity or weight or nutrition behaviour to maximize effectiveness. Best evidence is available for multi-component interventions.

  4. From Survival to Healthy Aging

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Evron, Lotte Orr; Wind, Gitte

    2018-01-01

    and the spouses built their mutual and individual lives focusing on their relationship and strived to return to their usual everyday life. Within three to six months the couples went from “survival” where the diagnosis dominated to “wellbeing” where healthy aging/lifestyle dominated. All eight couples led...

  5. Pathways from Religion to Health: Mediation by Psychosocial and Lifestyle Mechanisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morton, Kelly R; Lee, Jerry W; Martin, Leslie R

    2017-02-01

    Religiosity, often measured as attendance at religious services, is linked to better physical health and longevity though the mechanisms linking the two are debated. Potential explanations include: a healthier lifestyle, increased social support from congregational members, and/or more positive emotions. Thus far, these mechanisms have not been tested simultaneously in a single model though they likely operate synergistically. We test this model predicting all-cause mortality in Seventh-day Adventists, a denomination that explicitly promotes a healthy lifestyle. This allows the more explicit health behaviors linked to the religious doctrine (e.g., healthy diet) to be compared with other mechanisms not specific to religious doctrine (e.g., social support and positive emotions). Finally, this study examines both Church Activity (including worship attendance and church responsibilities) and Religious Engagement (coping, importance, and intrinsic beliefs). Religious Engagement is more is more inner-process focused (vs. activity-based) and less likely to be confounded with age and its associated functional status limitations, although it should be noted that age is controlled in the present study. The findings suggest that Religious Engagement and Church Activity operate through the mediators of health behavior, emotion, and social support to decrease mortality risk. All links between Religious Engagement and mortality are positive but indirect through positive Religious Support, Emotionality, and lifestyle mediators. However, Church Activity has a direct positive effect on mortality as well as indirect effects through, Religious Support, Emotionality, and lifestyle mediators (diet and exercise). The models were invariant by gender and for both Blacks and Whites.

  6. Comparative effectiveness of personalized lifestyle management strategies for cardiovascular disease risk reduction

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    P. Chu (Paula); A. Pandya; J.A. Salomon (Joshua A); S.J. Goldie (Sue J); Hunink, M.G.M. (M.G. Myriam)

    2015-01-01

    textabstractBackground-Evidence shows that healthy diet, exercise, smoking interventions, and stress reduction reduce cardiovascular disease risk. We aimed to compare the effectiveness of these lifestyle interventions for individual risk profiles and determine their rank order in reducing 10-year

  7. Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study to evaluate the effects of beta-1,3/1,6 glucan on stress associated with daily lifestyle in healthy subjects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yoshihiko Ojiri

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Background: Fatigue is attributable to physical and psychological stress. Fatigue is also a common symptom which occurs in both sick and healthy individuals. Although its mechanism of cause is complex, fatigue from stress is known to affect the existing equilibrium of the immune system. However, nutrition, such as beta-1,3/1,6 glucan, has been reported to play an important role in regulating stress and fatigue states, via modulating a weakened immune system. In this study, a popular and healthy beverage in Okinawa, Japan, containing a soluble baker’s yeast in black koji vinegar (Moromisu, was provided to healthy subjects with a non-strenuous daily lifestyle. Results: By performing statistical analysis on the results of the Profile of Mood States (POMS survey, we observed that overall study results (n=14 demonstrated significant differences in fatigue and confusion in the POMS factors. Conclusions: In this study we confirmed that beta-1,3/1,6 glucan improved some of the factors related to stress and fatigue, as indicated by evaluation of POMS survey results.

  8. Double standards for community sports: promoting active lifestyles but unhealthy diets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelly, Bridget; Chapman, Kathy; King, Lesley; Hardy, Louise; Farrell, Louise

    2008-12-01

    Overweight and obesity in Australia is an emerging health concern. Obesity prevention initiatives must consider both physical activity and nutrition to be effective. Community sports venues have the capacity to promote healthy lifestyles through physical activity as well as healthy food choices. A telephone survey was conducted on parents of children aged 5-17 years in NSW to determine the nature of food and beverages purchased by children at community sporting venues and to determine parent's perception of the role that government should play in regulating the types of food and beverages sold at these outlets. The majority of canteens at children's sporting venues were considered to sell mostly unhealthy food and beverages (53%). Very few parents reported that canteens sold mostly healthy food and beverages. Parents reported that their child's most frequently purchased food and beverage items at outdoor sports fields were water, chocolate and confectionery, soft drink and sports drinks, and ice cream. At community swimming pools the most frequently purchased items were ice cream, followed by snack foods, including chips, cakes and biscuits. Most parents (63%) agreed that government should restrict the types of food and beverages that can be sold at children's sporting venues. Children are receiving inconsistent health messages at sporting venues, with healthy lifestyles being promoted through sports participation, but unhealthy dietary choices being provided at sports canteens.

  9. Improving heart healthy lifestyles among participants in a Salud para su Corazón promotores model: the Mexican pilot study, 2009-2012.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balcázar, Héctor; Fernández-Gaxiola, Ana Cecilia; Pérez-Lizaur, Ana Bertha; Peyron, Rosa Adriana; Ayala, Carma

    2015-03-12

    In Mexico, cardiovascular disease and its risk factors are growing problems and major public health concerns. The objective of this study was to implement cardiovascular health promotion and disease prevention activities of the Salud para su Corazón model in a high-risk, impoverished, urban community in Mexico City. We used a pretest-posttest (baseline to 12-week follow-up) design without a control group. Material from Salud para su Corazón was validated and delivered by promotores (community health workers) to community members from 6 geographic areas. Two validated, self-administered questionnaires that assessed participants' knowledge and behaviors relating to heart health were administered. We used t tests and χ(2) tests to evaluate pretest and posttest differences, by age group (≤60 and >60 years), for participants' 3 heart-healthy habits, 3 types of physical activity, performance skills, and anthropometric and clinical measurements. A total of 452 (82%) adult participants completed the program. Heart-healthy habits from pretest to posttest varied by age group. "Taking action" to modify lifestyle behaviors increased among adults aged 60 or younger from 31.5% to 63.0% (P < .001) and among adults older than 60 from 30.0% to 45.0% (P < .001). Positive responses for cholesterol and fat consumption reduction were seen among participants 60 or younger (P = .03). Among those older than 60, salt reduction and weight control increased (P = .008). Mean blood glucose concentration among adults older than 60 decreased postintervention (P = .03). Significant improvements in some heart-healthy habits were seen among adult participants. The model has potential to improve heart-healthy habits and facilitate behavioral change among high-risk adults.

  10. Obesity intervention on the healthy lifestyle in childhood: results of the PRESTO (PrEvention STudy of Obesity Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sabine Dietrich

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available

    Background: Due to increasing problems with childhood and adolescent obesity in Austria PRESTO (PrEvention STudy of Obesity created a school based intervention program for promoting a healthy lifestyle in Austrian youth.

    Methods: PRESTO was carried out by a multi-disciplinary team including a physician, a psychologist, a nutritionist and an exercise physiologist. The study was carried out in 12 first grade school classes in Austria (2002-2004, mainly in Vienna (N=260. The control group consisted of 231 subjects. Medical examinations were performed and the participantsf knowledge on good nutrition and dietary habits were collected. Twelve nutrition sessions, one hour per week in each class, were conducted. Teachers were advised to discuss health issues in their classes and specific exercise physiologists were informed about how to integrate appropriate exercises into their lessons.

    Results: In comparison with control group, classes who performed PRESTO showed a significant knowledge of nutrition, consuming less unhealthy foods. These effects could be observed in the short term (14 weeks and at follow up (10 months. 24% subjects could be classified as being overweight (BMI .90.Perc..

    Conclusions: School-oriented intervention programs/studies, like PRESTO, are a potential way to demonstrate positive effect on nutrition, physical activity and healthy behaviours in youth, especially if carried out on a long-term basis. Ultimately PRESTO has proven to be a suitable programme to be disseminated onto schools throughout Austria.

  11. Associations between breakfast eating habits and health-promoting lifestyle, suboptimal health status in Southern China: a population based, cross sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jieyu; Cheng, Jingru; Liu, Yanyan; Tang, Yang; Sun, Xiaomin; Wang, Tian; Xiao, Ya; Li, Fei; Xiang, Lei; Jiang, Pingping; Wu, Shengwei; Wu, Liuguo; Luo, Ren; Zhao, Xiaoshan

    2014-12-11

    Suboptimal health status (SHS) is the intermediate health state between health and disease, refers to medically undiagnosed or functional somatic syndromes, and has been a major global public health challenge. However, both the etiology and mechanisms associated with SHS are still unclear. Breakfast eating behavior is a dietary pattern marker and previous studies have presented evidence of associations between failure to consume breakfast and increased diseases. Accordingly, in view of the significance of breakfast eating behaviors with respect to health status, the associations between breakfast eating habits and healthy lifestyle, SHS require further elucidation. A cross-sectional survey was conducted within a clustered sample of 24,159 individuals aged 12-80 years in 2012-13 within the population of Southern China. Breakfast eating habits were categorically defined by consumption frequency ('scarcely, sometimes or always'). Health-promoting lifestyle was assessed via the health-promoting lifestyle profile (HPLP-II). SHS was evaluated using the medical examination report and Sub-health Measurement Scale V1.0 (SHMS V1.0). Of the 24,159 participants, the prevalence rates for the 'health' , 'SHS' , and 'disease' were 18.8%, 46.0%, and 35.2%, respectively. Overall, 19.6% of participants reported 'scarce' breakfast eating habits, with frequent breakfast eaters scoring higher on both HPLP-II and SHMS V1.0. After demographic adjustment, regression analyses revealed a significant association between breakfast eating habits and healthy lifestyle (p eating habits are significantly associated with a healthy lifestyle, and appear to be a useful predictor of a healthy lifestyle. Irregular breakfast eating habits are related to an increased risk of SHS; increased breakfast eating frequency may contribute to lowering the prevalence of SHS in Southern China.

  12. Supporting parents of preschool children in adopting a healthy lifestyle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lemelin Lucie

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Childhood obesity is a public health epidemic. In Canada 21.5% of children aged 2–5 are overweight, with psychological and physical consequences for the child and economic consequences for society. Parents often do not view their children as overweight. One way to prevent overweight is to adopt a healthy lifestyle (HL. Nurses with direct access to young families could assess overweight and support parents in adopting HL. But what is the best way to support them if they do not view their child as overweight? A better understanding of parents’ representation of children’s overweight might guide the development of solutions tailored to their needs. Methods/design This study uses an action research design, a participatory approach mobilizing all stakeholders around a problem to be solved. The general objective is to identify, with nurses working with families, ways to promote HL among parents of preschoolers. Specific objectives are to: 1 describe the prevalence of overweight in preschoolers at vaccination time; 2 describe the representation of overweight and HL, as reported by preschoolers’ parents; 3 explore the views of nurses working with young families regarding possible solutions that could become a clinical tool to promote HL; and 4 try to identify a direction concerning the proposed strategies that could be used by nurses working with this population. First, an epidemiological study will be conducted in vaccination clinics: 288 4–5-year-olds will be weighed and measured. Next, semi-structured interviews will be conducted with 20 parents to describe their representation of HL and their child’s weight. Based on the results from these two steps, by means of a focus group nurses will identify possible strategies to the problem. Finally, focus groups of parents, then nurses and finally experts will give their opinions of these strategies in order to find a direction for these strategies. Descriptive and

  13. Unhealthy lifestyle habits and diabetes-specific health-related quality of life in youths with type 1 diabetes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mozzillo, Enza; Zito, Eugenio; Maffeis, Claudio; De Nitto, Elena; Maltoni, Giulio; Marigliano, Marco; Zucchini, Stefano; Franzese, Adriana; Valerio, Giuliana

    2017-12-01

    Management of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) influences several aspects of life, such as adherence to healthy lifestyle habits and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Our aim was to evaluate the association between unhealthy lifestyle habits and HRQoL in adolescents and young adults with T1DM. Two hundred and forty-two Caucasian patients (13-19 years) consecutively enrolled over a 12-month period in three Regional Pediatric Diabetes Centers in Italy. Demographics, clinical, and laboratory parameters, adherence to lifestyle habits (Mediterranean Diet assessed by KIDMED, Physical Activity levels and sedentary behavior by questionnaire) considered either separately or in cluster, and HRQoL by Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory Diabetes Module (PedsQL 3.0 DM) were collected. Metabolic control was determined by HbA1c mean of previous year. Only 15 (6.2%) patients fulfilled the cluster of three healthy lifestyle habits without gender differences (p = 0.353); 62 (25.6%) had 1 unhealthy lifestyle habit, and 165 (68.2%) had ≥2. Adolescents meeting physical activity recommendations had better PedsQL scores than those who did not meet. PedsQL total score and specific sub-scales decreased in patients with unhealthy lifestyle habits. High PedsQL was significantly associated with being male, living in South Italy, having lower HbA1c mean levels, and reporting lower adherence to unhealthy lifestyle habits. The clustering of unhealthy lifestyle habits is associated with reduced HRQoL in adolescents and young adults with T1DM. Promoting multiple behavior changes may be a useful approach to improve the health status and the HRQoL in youths with T1DM.

  14. Differences in Eating Behavior, Physical Activity, and Health-Related Lifestyle Choices between Users and Nonusers of Mobile Health Apps

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarcona, Alessandra; Kovacs, Laura; Wright, Josephine; Williams, Christine

    2017-01-01

    Background: Weight gain and lifestyle behaviors during college may contribute to future health problems. This population may not have sufficient self-monitoring skills to maintain healthy lifestyle behaviors. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between usages of mobile health applications (apps) designed to track…

  15. Theory of mind correlates with clinical insight but not cognitive insight in patients with schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Qi; Li, Xu; Parker, Giverny J; Hong, Xiao-Hong; Wang, Yi; Lui, Simon S Y; Neumann, David L; Cheung, Eric F C; Shum, David H K; Chan, Raymond C K

    2016-03-30

    Research on the relationship between insight and social cognition, in particular Theory of Mind (ToM), in schizophrenia has yielded mixed findings to date. Very few studies, however, have assessed both clinical insight and cognitive insight when examining their relationships with ToM in schizophrenia. The current study thus investigated the relationship between clinical insight, cognitive insight, and ToM in a sample of 56 patients with schizophrenia and 30 healthy controls. Twenty-seven patients were classified as low in clinical insight according to their scores on the 'insight' item (G12) of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Moreover, cognitive insight and ToM were assessed with the Beck Cognitive Insight Scale (BCIS) and the Yoni task, respectively. The results indicated that patients with poor clinical insight performed worse on tasks of second-order cognitive and affective ToM, while the ToM performance of patients with high clinical insight was equivalent to that of healthy controls. Furthermore, while clinical insight was correlated with ToM and clinical symptoms, cognitive insight did not correlate with clinical insight, ToM, or clinical symptoms. Clinical insight thus appears to be an important factor related to ToM in schizophrenia. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Healthy and wellbeing activities' promotion using a Big Data approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gachet Páez, Diego; de Buenaga Rodríguez, Manuel; Puertas Sánz, Enrique; Villalba, María Teresa; Muñoz Gil, Rafael

    2018-06-01

    The aging population and economic crisis specially in developed countries have as a consequence the reduction in funds dedicated to health care; it is then desirable to optimize the costs of public and private healthcare systems, reducing the affluence of chronic and dependent people to care centers; promoting healthy lifestyle and activities can allow people to avoid chronic diseases as for example hypertension. In this article, we describe a system for promoting an active and healthy lifestyle for people and to recommend with guidelines and valuable information about their habits. The proposed system is being developed around the Big Data paradigm using bio-signal sensors and machine-learning algorithms for recommendations.

  17. Work-Recreation Balance, Health-Promoting Lifestyles and Suboptimal Health Status in Southern China: A Cross-Sectional Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shengwei Wu

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Suboptimal health status (SHS—an intermediate state between health and illness—refers to functional somatic symptoms that are medically undiagnosed. Although SHS has become a great challenge for global public health, very little about its etiology and mechanisms are known. Work-recreation balance is a part of work−life balance, and is related to stress which greatly influences health status. We therefore carried out a cross-sectional investigation between 2012 and 2013 within a clustered sample of 24,475 individuals aged 15−60 years from a population in southern China. In so doing, we hoped to illuminate the associations between work-recreation balance conditions, healthy lifestyles, and SHS. Work-recreation balance conditions were categorically defined by frequency (“rarely, sometimes, or always”. Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP-II was used to evaluate the level of healthy lifestyles, and the medical examination report and Sub-Health Measurement Scale V1.0 (SHMS V1.0 were both used to evaluate health status. The ratio of SHS (46.3% is higher than health status (18.4% or disease status (35.3%. Overall, 4.9% of respondents reported the lowest level of work-recreation balance, and they scored lower on both the HPLP-II and SHMS V1.0 compared with those who frequently maintained a work-recreation balance. Significant association was found between work-recreation balance behaviors and healthy lifestyles (p < 0.001 after demographic adjustment. In comparison with those reporting a frequent work-recreation balance, individuals whose work-recreation balance was categorically “rare” were 1.69 times as likely to develop SHS (odds ratio (OR: 1.69, 95% confidence interval (CI: 1.49–1.92, and those with infrequent work-recreation balance (“sometimes” were 1.71 times more likely to develop SHS (OR: 1.71, 95% CI: 1.62–1.81. These findings suggest that work-recreation balance conditions are significantly associated with, and

  18. Work-Recreation Balance, Health-Promoting Lifestyles and Suboptimal Health Status in Southern China: A Cross-Sectional Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Shengwei; Xuan, Zhengzheng; Li, Fei; Xiao, Wei; Fu, Xiuqiong; Jiang, Pingping; Chen, Jieyu; Xiang, Lei; Liu, Yanyan; Nie, Xiaoli; Luo, Ren; Sun, Xiaomin; Kwan, Hiuyee; Zhao, Xiaoshan

    2016-01-01

    Suboptimal health status (SHS)—an intermediate state between health and illness—refers to functional somatic symptoms that are medically undiagnosed. Although SHS has become a great challenge for global public health, very little about its etiology and mechanisms are known. Work-recreation balance is a part of work−life balance, and is related to stress which greatly influences health status. We therefore carried out a cross-sectional investigation between 2012 and 2013 within a clustered sample of 24,475 individuals aged 15−60 years from a population in southern China. In so doing, we hoped to illuminate the associations between work-recreation balance conditions, healthy lifestyles, and SHS. Work-recreation balance conditions were categorically defined by frequency (“rarely, sometimes, or always”). Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP-II) was used to evaluate the level of healthy lifestyles, and the medical examination report and Sub-Health Measurement Scale V1.0 (SHMS V1.0) were both used to evaluate health status. The ratio of SHS (46.3%) is higher than health status (18.4%) or disease status (35.3%). Overall, 4.9% of respondents reported the lowest level of work-recreation balance, and they scored lower on both the HPLP-II and SHMS V1.0 compared with those who frequently maintained a work-recreation balance. Significant association was found between work-recreation balance behaviors and healthy lifestyles (p work-recreation balance, individuals whose work-recreation balance was categorically “rare” were 1.69 times as likely to develop SHS (odds ratio (OR): 1.69, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.49–1.92), and those with infrequent work-recreation balance (“sometimes”) were 1.71 times more likely to develop SHS (OR: 1.71, 95% CI: 1.62–1.81). These findings suggest that work-recreation balance conditions are significantly associated with, and seem to be accurate behavioral indicia of a healthy lifestyle. Poor work-recreation balance is

  19. Work-Recreation Balance, Health-Promoting Lifestyles and Suboptimal Health Status in Southern China: A Cross-Sectional Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Shengwei; Xuan, Zhengzheng; Li, Fei; Xiao, Wei; Fu, Xiuqiong; Jiang, Pingping; Chen, Jieyu; Xiang, Lei; Liu, Yanyan; Nie, Xiaoli; Luo, Ren; Sun, Xiaomin; Kwan, Hiuyee; Zhao, Xiaoshan

    2016-03-19

    Suboptimal health status (SHS)-an intermediate state between health and illness--refers to functional somatic symptoms that are medically undiagnosed. Although- SHS has become a great challenge for global public health, very little about its etiology and mechanisms are known. Work-recreation balance is a part of work-life balance, and is related to stress which greatly influences health status. We therefore carried out a cross-sectional investigation between 2012 and 2013 within a clustered sample of 24,475 individuals aged 15-60 years from a population in southern China. In so doing, we hoped to illuminate the associations between work-recreation balance conditions, healthy lifestyles, and SHS. Work-recreation balance conditions were categorically defined by frequency ("rarely, sometimes, or always"). Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP-II) was used to evaluate the level of healthy lifestyles, and the medical examination report and Sub-Health Measurement Scale V1.0 (SHMS V1.0) were both used to evaluate health status. The ratio of SHS (46.3%) is higher than health status (18.4%) or disease status (35.3%). Overall, 4.9% of respondents reported the lowest level of work-recreation balance, and they scored lower on both the HPLP-II and SHMS V1.0 compared with those who frequently maintained a work-recreation balance. Significant association was found between work-recreation balance behaviors and healthy lifestyles (p work-recreation balance, individuals whose work-recreation balance was categorically "rare" were 1.69 times as likely to develop SHS (odds ratio (OR): 1.69, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.49-1.92), and those with infrequent work-recreation balance ("sometimes") were 1.71 times more likely to develop SHS (OR: 1.71, 95% CI: 1.62-1.81). These findings suggest that work-recreation balance conditions are significantly associated with, and seem to be accurate behavioral indicia of a healthy lifestyle. Poor work-recreation balance is associated with

  20. The impact of obesity on hypertension and diabetes control following healthy Lifestyle Intervention Program in a developing country setting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aliakbar Tavassoli

    2011-01-01

    Conclusions: Our lifestyle interventions did not show any improving effect on HTN or DM control among obese subjects based on different obesity indices. Other lifestyle intervention strategies are suggested.

  1. DEPENDENCE OF THE REPRODUCTIVE FUNCTION OF SCHOOLGIRLS AGED 12–15 YEARS FROM THEIR LIFESTYLE PECULIARITIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. G. Sukharev

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Judging upon the results of recent studies we can state that over the past years there is a negative tendency in reproductive health of schoolgirls aged 12–15. Study objective was to evaluate dependency of reproductive function of schoolgirls from their lifestyle. A hypothesis has been stated upon presence of causal relations in the biosocial system «Health–Lifestyle» and upon necessity of healthy lifestyle motivation to preserve girl’s reproductive health. 128 girls took part in the study from 5–7 forms from 2 Moscow schools. Results of the study stand for well-timed correction of the girl’s lifestyles in order to prevent disorders of reproductive system.m.

  2. Lifestyle of health sciences students at Majmaah University, Saudi Arabia

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    Fahad Alfhaid

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Background We all want to live a long, happy and healthy life with an abundance of energy and vitality to perform well both mentally and physically. A healthy lifestyle is a valuable resource for reducing the incidence and impact of health problems, enabling you better to cope with life stressors, as well as improving your quality of life. Aims The study was aimed to assess the lifestyle (eating habits and physical activity of health sciences students studying at Majmaah University. Methods This cross-sectional institutional based study was conducted from 25th November 2014-3rd May 2015. A total of 450 students (370 males and 80 females aged between 18–28 years were randomly chosen. Self-reported questionnaire was used for data collection from the College of Medicine, College of Applied Medical Sciences and College of Dentistry. Results Majority of the students, 62.4 per cent, were physically inactive. Students from the College of Medicine, 40.4 per cent, were the most physically active. The most common reason that restrained the students from being active was time limitation. In addition to that, many of the participants, 29.6 per cent, have never had breakfast at home. Also, most of the participants, 42.7 per cent, were not satisfied with their eating habits. Almost one quarter of students were consuming soft drinks more than four times a day. Conclusion There is a high prevalence of sedentary lifestyle, physical inactivity and unhealthy dietary habits among health sciences students studying at Majmaah University. There is an urgent need for arranging health education programs for promoting healthy and active living among health sciences students of Majmaah University in Saudi Arabia.

  3. Lifestyle modification in the management of the metabolic syndrome: achievements and challenges

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    Marchesini G

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Riccardo Dalle Grave1, Simona Calugi1, Elena Centis2, Rebecca Marzocchi2, Marwan El Ghoch1, Giulio Marchesini21Department of Eating & Weight Disorder, Villa Garda Hospital, Garda (VR, Italy; 2Unit of Metabolic Diseases & Clinical Dietetics, Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, Bologna, ItalyAbstract: Lifestyle modification based on behavior therapy is the most important and effective strategy to manage the metabolic syndrome. Modern lifestyle modification therapy combines specific recommendations on diet and exercise with behavioral and cognitive strategies. The intervention may be delivered face-to-face or in groups, or in groups combined with individual sessions. The main challenge of treatment is helping patients maintain healthy behavior changes in the long term. In the last few years, several strategies have been evaluated to improve the long-term effect of lifestyle modification. Promising results have been achieved by combining lifestyle modification with pharmacotherapy, using meals replacement, setting higher physical activity goals, and long-term care. The key role of cognitive processes in the success/failure of weight loss and maintenance suggests that new cognitive procedures and strategies should be included in the traditional lifestyle modification interventions, in order to help patients build a mind-set favoring long-term lifestyle changes. These new strategies raise optimistic expectations for an effective treatment of metabolic syndrome with lifestyle modifications, provided public health programs to change the environment where patients live support them.Keywords: metabolic syndrome, obesity, lifestyle modification, cognitive behavior therapy

  4. Determinants of health-promoting lifestyle behaviour in the rural areas of Hungary.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paulik, Edit; Bóka, Ferenc; Kertész, Aranka; Balogh, Sándor; Nagymajtényi, László

    2010-09-01

    Today chronic non-communicable diseases are the major cause of death and disability worldwide. Chronic diseases are determined by common risk factors (e.g. smoking). The purpose of this study was to develop a health-promoting behaviour index, and to evaluate the impact of the social and the demographic characteristics of the individuals, self-rated health and certain features of settlements on the score of this index. A population-based, cross-sectional health survey was conducted. Altogether 91 settlements with various sizes of population, and at various stages of social, economic and infrastructural development took part in the survey. The survey was based on interviewer-administered questionnaires, 3380 subjects filled in the questionnaires correctly, and the response rate was 82.4%. Questions on lifestyle factors referred to smoking, nutritional habits and physical activity. Low level (5.5%) of people have achieved the 'complete' health-promoting behaviour, including non-smoking, healthy nutrition and physical activity. There were significant associations between health-promoting behaviour and demographic, social and economic characteristics of the individuals and their dwelling place. The lower prevalence of healthy lifestyle activities among lower educated, lower income and aged people living in small settlements call the attention to the higher risk of these people. On planning interventions, special attention should be paid to the geographically, infrastructurally, socially and demographically disadvantaged population groups to provide equal opportunities for them, to live a healthy way of life. The application of the health-promoting index might be used to monitor the effects of interventions to alter lifestyle at community level.

  5. Lifestyle- and diet-related factors in late-life depression - a 5-year follow-up of elderly European men: the FINE study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bots, S.; Tijhuis, M.J.; Giampaoli, S.; Kromhout, D.; Nissinen, A.

    2008-01-01

    Objective Late-life depression is one of the main health problems among elderly populations and a key element of healthy ageing. Causal relationships of lifestyle- and diet-related factors in late-life depression are unclear. This study investigates prospective associations of lifestyle- and

  6. The role of lifestyle change in health promotion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mirela Manuela GHEORGHE

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available We are experiencing a period where we are faced with rising healthcare costs, as well as an increased disease impact on the entire population of the country. Although the slogan “prevention is cheaper than cure” may seem old-fashioned, however, it is more true than ever. It is necessary to offer health education and also to promote health care in Romania, in accordance with the international standards, as adopted by the European Union. Health Promotion is the art and science of helping people change their lifestyle in order to achieve a state of optimal health, restoring the harmony at all levels of human existence. Promoting a lifestyle which given certain conditions maximizes health, welfare and human fulfilment represents a goal that does not belong exclusively to the health sector; all fields of activity, all those sectors that define the life of an individual or a community are essential parts of achieving a healthy lifestyle. Modern men adopt a lifestyle where sedentary life, overeating, smoking, erratic working hours and alcohol use are common behaviours. Therefore, they become vulnerable to a new class of diseases of multi-factorial aetiology where the lifestyle plays a prominent role. Although the lifestyle may be complex, it is still under personal control and lead by the ability to choose extensively, which can be of benefit to the person's life and health. Choices regarding health involve more than objective information. Health education should be an ongoing concern for health professionals and health educators, psychologists, sociologists, family, for those who through effective collaboration contribute to ensuring physical and mental health in the community, in the increasingly demanding conditions of the modern life, which raise difficult issues regarding human adaptability.

  7. [Study on the relationship among lifestyle, self-esteem and life satisfaction in Chinese adolescents].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xiao-miao; Zhang, Fang-fang; Sun, Xin-ying; Gao, Wen-bin

    2010-06-18

    To explore the relationship between lifestyle, self-esteem and life satisfaction among Chinese adolescents. 10 899 adolescents in middle schools and colleges from 9 provinces in China were investigated by using Chinese Adolescent Lifestyle Scale (CALS), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (SES). The distribution of adolescents in the four groups divided by lifestyle and life satisfaction scores were different regarding the area and grade of these students(chi(2)=248.93, Plife style with high life satisfaction while most adolescents in rural areas (58.9%) reported poor life styles with little satisfaction. A high percentage of junior high school students (61.8%) reported a healthy life style with high life satisfaction, but this percentage among senior high school and college students was down to 48.5% and 21.3% respectively. About 7.6% of senior high school students reported a healthy life style but poor satisfaction, a little higher than that of junior high school students (4.1%) and college students (3.6%). Moreover, there were 71.6% college students reported that they lead a poor life style with little satisfaction. The lifestyle is significantly correlated with self-esteem (r=0.472, Plife satisfaction(r=0.636, Pself-esteem is also significantly correlated with life satisfaction (r=0.450, Pself-esteem was the mediator of the other two parameters. The lifestyle predicts life satisfaction through self-esteem. Area and grade differences have to be taken into consideration when introducing programs on health promotion, and attention should be attached to the influence of psychological factors.

  8. Translating a heart disease lifestyle intervention into the community: the South Asian Heart Lifestyle Intervention (SAHELI) study; a randomized control trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kandula, Namratha R; Dave, Swapna; De Chavez, Peter John; Bharucha, Himali; Patel, Yasin; Seguil, Paola; Kumar, Santosh; Baker, David W; Spring, Bonnie; Siddique, Juned

    2015-10-16

    South Asians (Asian Indians and Pakistanis) are the second fastest growing ethnic group in the United States (U.S.) and have an increased risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). This pilot study evaluated a culturally-salient, community-based healthy lifestyle intervention to reduce ASCVD risk among South Asians. Through an academic-community partnership, medically underserved South Asian immigrants at risk for ASCVD were randomized into the South Asian Heart Lifestyle Intervention (SAHELI) study. The intervention group attended 6 interactive group classes focused on increasing physical activity, healthful diet, weight, and stress management. They also received follow-up telephone support calls. The control group received translated print education materials about ASCVD and healthy behaviors. Primary outcomes were feasibility and initial efficacy, measured as change in moderate/vigorous physical activity and dietary saturated fat intake at 3- and 6-months. Secondary clinical and psychosocial outcomes were also measured. Participants' (n = 63) average age was 50 (SD = 8) years, 63 % were female, 27 % had less than or equal to a high school education, one-third were limited English proficient, and mean BMI was 30 kg/m2 (SD ± 5). There were no significant differences in change in physical activity or saturated fat intake between the intervention and control group. Compared to the control group, the intervention group showed significant weight loss (-1.5 kg, p-value = 0.04) and had a greater sex-adjusted decrease in hemoglobin A1C (-0.43 %, p-value culturally-salient, community-based lifestyle intervention was feasible for engaging medically underserved South Asian immigrants and more effective at addressing ASCVD risk factors than print health education materials. NCT01647438, Date of Trial Registration: July 19, 2012.

  9. The Healthy Children, Strong Families Intervention: Design and Community Participation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adams, Alexandra K.; LaRowe, Tara L.; Cronin, Kate A.; Prince, Ronald J.; Wubben, Deborah P.; Parker, Tassy; Jobe, Jared B.

    2012-01-01

    Healthy Children, Strong Families (HCSF) is a 2-year, community-driven, family-based randomized controlled trial of a healthy lifestyles intervention conducted in partnership with four Wisconsin American Indian tribes. HCSF is composed of 1 year of targeted home visits to deliver nutritional and physical activity curricula. During Year 1, trained…

  10. The NEIL Memory Research Unit: psychosocial, biological, physiological and lifestyle factors associated with healthy ageing: study protocol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hannigan, Caoimhe; Coen, Robert F; Lawlor, Brian A; Robertson, Ian H; Brennan, Sabina

    2015-01-01

    Population ageing is a global phenomenon that has characterised demographic trends during the 20th and 21st century. The rapid growth in the proportion of older adults in the population, and resultant increase in the incidence of age-related cognitive decline, dementia and Alzheimer's disease, brings significant social, economic and healthcare challenges. Decline in cognitive abilities represents the most profound threat to active and healthy ageing. Current evidence suggests that a significant proportion of cases of age-related cognitive decline and dementia may be preventable through the modification of risk factors including education, depressive symptomology, physical activity, social engagement and participation in cognitively stimulating activities. The NEIL Memory Research Unit cohort study was established to investigate factors related to brain health and the maintenance of cognitive function. A cohort of 1000 normally ageing adults aged 50 years and over are being recruited to participate in comprehensive assessments at baseline, and at follow-up once every 2 years. The assessment protocol comprises a comprehensive neuropsychological battery, some basic physical measures, psychosocial scales, questionnaire measures related to a range of health, lifestyle and behavioural factors, and a measure of resting state activity using electroencephalography (EEG). The NEIL Memory Research Unit cohort study will address key questions about brain health and cognitive ageing in the population aged 50+, with a particular emphasis on the influence of potentially modifiable factors on cognitive outcomes. Analyses will be conducted with a focus on factors involved in the maintenance of cognitive function among older adults, and therefore will have the potential to contribute significant knowledge related to key questions within the field of cognitive ageing, and to inform the development of public health interventions aimed at preventing cognitive decline and promoting

  11. Composite protective lifestyle factors and risk of developing gastric adenocarcinoma: the Singapore Chinese Health Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhensheng; Koh, Woon-Puay; Jin, Aizhen; Wang, Renwei; Yuan, Jian-Min

    2017-02-28

    Incidence of gastric cancer is the highest in Eastern Asia. Multiple modifiable lifestyle factors have been identified as risk factors for gastric cancer. However, their aggregated effect on the risk of gastric cancer has not been examined among populations with high prevalence of Helicobacter pylori. A study was conducted to examine the association between multiple lifestyle factors together and the risk of developing gastric adenocarcinoma in the Singapore Chinese Health Study, a prospective cohort of 63 257 men and women between 45 and 74 years enroled during 1993-1998. Composite score of cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, obesity, dietary pattern, and sodium intake at baseline was assessed with hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of gastric adenocarcinoma using Cox regression method. Higher healthy composite lifestyle scores were significantly associated with reduced risk of gastric adenocarcinoma in a dose-dependent manner. Hazard ratios (95% CIs) for total, cardia, and non-cardia gastric adenocarcinoma for the highest (score 5) vs lowest composite score (score 0/1/2) were 0.42 (0.31-0.57), 0.22 (0.10-0.47), and 0.55 (0.39-0.78), respectively (all P trend <0.001). These lifestyles together accounted for 48% of total gastric adenocarcinoma cases in the study population. The inverse association was observed in both genders, and remained after exclusion of first 5 years of follow-up. The inverse association between the aggregated healthy lifestyle factors and the risk of gastric adenocarcinoma is in dose-dependent manner in this highly H. pylori-exposed population. These lifestyle factors together may account for up to half of disease burden in this study population.

  12. Diet and lifestyle recommendations revision 2006: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association Nutrition Committee.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lichtenstein, Alice H; Appel, Lawrence J; Brands, Michael; Carnethon, Mercedes; Daniels, Stephen; Franch, Harold A; Franklin, Barry; Kris-Etherton, Penny; Harris, William S; Howard, Barbara; Karanja, Njeri; Lefevre, Michael; Rudel, Lawrence; Sacks, Frank; Van Horn, Linda; Winston, Mary; Wylie-Rosett, Judith

    2006-07-04

    Improving diet and lifestyle is a critical component of the American Heart Association's strategy for cardiovascular disease risk reduction in the general population. This document presents recommendations designed to meet this objective. Specific goals are to consume an overall healthy diet; aim for a healthy body weight; aim for recommended levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides; aim for normal blood pressure; aim for a normal blood glucose level; be physically active; and avoid use of and exposure to tobacco products. The recommendations are to balance caloric intake and physical activity to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight; consume a diet rich in vegetables and fruits; choose whole-grain, high-fiber foods; consume fish, especially oily fish, at least twice a week; limit intake of saturated fat to foods with added sugars; choose and prepare foods with little or no salt; if you consume alcohol, do so in moderation; and when you eat food prepared outside of the home, follow these Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations. By adhering to these diet and lifestyle recommendations, Americans can substantially reduce their risk of developing cardiovascular disease, which remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States.

  13. Targeting persons with low socioeconomic status of different ethnic origins with lifestyle interventions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bukman, A.J.

    2016-01-01

    Lifestyle intervention studies have shown that the development of cardiometabolic diseases can be partly prevented or postponed by the combination of a healthy diet and physical activity. Cardiometabolic diseases and their risk factors are particularly prevalent among individuals with low

  14. Mediterranean lifestyle and cardiovascular disease prevention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Georgousopoulou, Ekavi N; Mellor, Duane D; Naumovski, Nenad; Polychronopoulos, Evangelos; Tyrovolas, Stefanos; Piscopo, Suzanne; Valacchi, Giuseppe; Anastasiou, Foteini; Zeimbekis, Akis; Bountziouka, Vassiliki; Gotsis, Efthimios; Metallinos, George; Tyrovola, Dimitra; Foscolou, Alexandra; Tur, Josep-Antoni; Matalas, Antonia-Leda; Lionis, Christos; Sidossis, Labros; Panagiotakos, Demosthenes

    2017-04-01

    Adherence to a Mediterranean dietary pattern is a well-established protective factor against cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, diet quality is only one aspect of the overall healthy lifestyle adopted by Mediterranean populations. The latter has never been evaluated as a multi-factorial composite lifestyle. Thus, the aim of the present study was to provide a broader picture of the Mediterranean lifestyle and its effects on CVD risk, among elderly individuals. During 2005-2015, 2,749 older (aged 65-100 years) from 21 Mediterranean islands (MEDIS) and the rural Mani region (Peloponnesus) of Greece were voluntarily enrolled onto the study. Dietary habits, physical activity status, socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle parameters (sleep, smoking habits, social life and educational status) and clinical profile aspects were derived through standard procedures. The overall prevalence of the traditional CVD risk factors were 62.3% for hypertension, 22.3% for diabetes mellitus (type 2) and 47.7% for hypercholesterolemia. The presence of diabetes mellitus was positively predicted by the geriatric depression scale (GDS) [odds ratio (OR) =1.13, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02-1.25] and by an urban residential environment (OR =2.57, 95% CI: 1.10-6.06) after adjusting for several confounders. Presence of hypertension was predicted by increasing age (OR =1.07, 95% CI: 1.02-1.12), increasing body mass index (BMI) (OR =1.12, 95% CI: 1.04-1.21), the habit of midday sleep (OR =2.07, 95% CI: 1.07-4.02) and inversely predicted by the frequency of socializing with friends (OR =0.767, 95% CI: 0.616-0.955). The estimated score in the GDS was the only independent positive predictor for the presence of hypercholesterolemia (OR =1.10, 95% CI: 1.01-1.21). Lifestyle parameters such as social life, midday sleep (siesta) and residential environment are strongly associated with the presence of CVD risk factors in elderly and should be part of broader CVD prevention strategies to

  15. The relationship between healthy lifestyle and hospital utilization among adults with diabetes: results from a national cohort in Taiwan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Chia-Lin; Sheu, Ji-Tian; Wang, Ting-Ann; Wen, Yu-Ping; Chao, Minston; Chang, Hsing-Yi

    2015-04-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate whether adopting healthy lifestyle habits, such as engaging in leisure time physical activity (LTPA), adopting recommended dietary patterns, and not smoking, are associated with reduced hospitalizations over 1 year among adults with diabetes. We analyzed data from a national sample of people aged 18 years and above with self-reported physician-diagnosed diabetes (n = 664) through linkage to the 2001 National Health Interview Survey in Taiwan and the 2002 National Health Insurance claims data. Multivariate analysis showed that participants reporting greater than 150 min/wk of moderate-intensity activity had a significantly lower chance for hospitalization (odds ratio = 0.52; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.27-0.98), fewer admissions (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 0.58; 95% CI = 0.33-1.00), and fewer hospital bed days (IRR = 0.42; 95% CI = 0.20-0.92) compared with inactive individuals. Diet control and smoking status did not significantly predict hospital use after controlling for other factors. Our findings indicate that increased LTPA results in reduced hospitalization among adults with diabetes. © 2014 APJPH.

  16. Intensive lifestyle intervention provides rapid reduction of serum fatty acid levels in women with severe obesity without lowering omega?3 to unhealthy levels?

    OpenAIRE

    Lin, C.; Andersen, J. R.; V?ge, V.; Rajalahti, T.; Mj?s, S. A.; Kvalheim, O. M.

    2016-01-01

    Summary Serum fatty acid (FA) levels were monitored in women with severe obesity during intensive lifestyle intervention. At baseline, total FA levels and most individual FAs were elevated compared to a matching cohort of normal and overweight women (healthy controls). After 3 weeks of intensive lifestyle intervention, total level was only 11?12% higher than in the healthy controls and with almost all FAs being significantly lower than at baseline, but with levels of omega?3 being similar to ...

  17. Can the sociology of social problems help us to understand and manage 'lifestyle drift'?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carey, Gemma; Malbon, Eleanor; Crammond, Brad; Pescud, Melanie; Baker, Philip

    2017-08-01

    Lifestyle drift is increasingly seen as a barrier to broad action on the social determinants of health. The term is currently used in the population health literature to describe how broad policy initiatives for tackling inequalities in health that start off with social determinants (upstream) approach drift downstream to largely individual lifestyle factors, as well as the general trend of investing a the individual level. Lifestyle drift occurs despite the on-going efforts of public health advocates, such as anti-obesity campaigners, to draw attention to the social factors which shape health behavior and outcomes. In this article, we explore whether the sociology of social problems can help understand lifestyle drift in the context of obesity. Specifically, we apply Jamrozik and Nocella's residualist conversion model to the problem of obesity in order to explore whether such an approach can provide greater insight into the processes that underpin lifestyle drift and inform our attempts to mitigate it. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  18. Lifestyle factors affecting gastroesophageal reflux disease symptoms: a cross-sectional study of healthy 19864 adults using FSSG scores

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yamamichi Nobutake

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD is a very common disorder worldwide, comprised of reflux esophagitis (RE and non-erosive reflux disease (NERD. As more than half of GERD patients are classified into the NERD group, precise evaluation of bothersome epigastric symptoms is essential. Nevertheless, compared with many reports targeting endoscopic reflux esophagitis, large-scale studies focusing on GERD symptoms have been very scarce. Methods To elucidate lifestyle factors affecting GERD symptoms, 19,864 healthy adults in Japan were analyzed. Sub-analyses of 371 proton pump inhibitor (PPI users and 539 histamine H2-receptor antagonist (H2RA users were also performed. Using the FSSG (Frequency Scale for the Symptoms of GERD score as a response variable, 25 lifestyle-related factors were univariately evaluated by Student's t-test or Pearson's correlation coefficient, and were further analyzed with multiple linear regression modelling. Results Average FSSG scores were 4.8 ± 5.2 for total subjects, 9.0 ± 7.3 for PPI users, and 8.2 ± 6.6 for H2RA users. Among the total population, positively correlated factors and standardized coefficients (β for FSSG scores are inadequate sleep (β = 0.158, digestive drug users (β = 0.0972 for PPI, β = 0.0903 for H2RA, and β = 0.104 for others, increased body weight in adulthood (β = 0.081, dinner just before bedtime (β = 0.061, the habit of midnight snack (β = 0.055, lower body mass index (β = 0.054, NSAID users (β = 0.051, female gender (β = 0.048, lack of breakfast (β = 0.045, lack of physical exercise (β = 0.035, younger age (β = 0.033, antihyperglycemic agents non-users (β = 0.026, the habit of quick eating (β = 0.025, alcohol drinking (β = 0.025, history of gastrectomy (β = 0.024, history of cardiovascular disease (β = 0.020, and smoking (β = 0.018. Positively correlated factors for PPI users are female gender (β = 0.198, inadequate sleep (β = 0.150, lack of breakfast

  19. "Go Girls!": psychological and behavioral outcomes associated with a group-based healthy lifestyle program for adolescent girls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dowd, A Justine; Chen, Michelle Y; Jung, Mary E; Beauchamp, Mark R

    2015-03-01

    The objective of this study was to assess changes in adolescent girls' health-enhancing cognitions and behaviors targeted by the Go Girls! group-based mentorship lifestyle program. Three hundred and ten adolescent girls (nested within 40 Go Girls! groups) completed questionnaires that assessed cognitions (attitudes, self-regulatory efficacy, and intentions) and behaviors (physical activity and dietary) at four time points (two pre-program, one at the end of the program, and one at 7-week follow-up). Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine changes in the outcome variables among Go Girls! participants (M age = 11.68 years, SD = 0.80). No significant changes occurred in the outcome variables during the baseline comparison period (Time 1-2). When compared to the average of the baseline assessments, 7 weeks after completing the program, girls reported significant improvements in physical activity (M Baseline PAtotal = 3.82, SD = 3.49; M T4 PAtotal = 4.38, SD = 3.75) and healthy eating (M Baseline = 10.71, SD = 1.13; M T4 = 11.35, SD = 1.05) behavior and related cognitions (d values ≥0.65). Findings provide preliminary support for programs that foster belongingness and target health behaviors through mentorship models.

  20. Low quality of life and depressive symptoms are connected with an unhealthy lifestyle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savolainen, Jorma; Kautiainen, Hannu; Miettola, Juhani; Niskanen, Leo; Mäntyselkä, Pekka

    2014-03-01

    The Lapinlahti 2005 study was carried out to explore cardiovascular disease risk factors, lifestyle and quality of life in Lapinlahti residents in eastern Finland. Our aim was to study the association between lifestyle and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in the community. The present study is based on the baseline data of the followed up (2005-2010) population-based cohort (N = 376, n of males = 184). A trained research nurse measured weight, height, waist circumference and blood pressure. Self-reported HRQoL was measured using a 15D questionnaire. A BDI-21 inventory was used to assess the presence of self-reported depressive symptoms. Lifestyle factors (nutrition, exercise, smoking and alcohol use) were examined with a structured questionnaire. Each lifestyle item was valued as -1, 0 or 1, depending on how well it corresponded to the recommendations. Based on the index the participants were divided into three lifestyle sum tertiles: I = unhealthy, II = neutral and III = healthy. The age- and sex-adjusted linear trend between the tertiles was tested. The 15D score had a positive linear relationship with the lifestyle tertiles (P = .0048 for linearity, age- and sex-adjusted). Respectively, self-reported depressive symptoms were less frequent among subjects with a healthier lifestyle (P = .038). People who are expected to strive most to change their lifestyle have the lowest quality of life and psychological welfare, which should be taken into account in both clinical work and health promotion.

  1. Sustainable occupational responses to climate change through lifestyle choices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hocking, Clare; Kroksmark, Ulla

    2013-03-01

    Abstract Occupational therapists and occupational scientists are increasingly aware of the relationship between occupation and global climate change, with some working to raise awareness of the issues and others proposing that an occupational perspective can make a valuable contribution to understanding and addressing the issues. In this discussion paper the United Nations Global Survey on Sustainable Lifestyles ( 1 ), which reports young adults' beliefs about everyday occupations that have a substantial impact on the environment (food, housekeeping, and transportation) is introduced. The authors argue that the survey findings are a valuable resource for occupational therapists who are concerned about global climate change and work with young adults (age 18-35), providing valuable insights into their concerns and preferences in relation to sustainability. To illustrate the insights contained in the reports, findings from four countries are presented: New Zealand and Sweden, the authors' countries of origin, and the Philippines and Lebanon which have people living in New Zealand and Sweden. Application to individual and community-based interventions to promote more sustainable lifestyles is suggested, along with studies to examine the perspectives of young adults with a disability, as their concerns and sustainability preferences might differ due to the barriers that limit their participation in educational and vocational occupations.

  2. Lifestyle changes and prevention of metabolic syndrome in the Heart of New Ulm Project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeffrey J. VanWormer

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Prior research has shown that unhealthy lifestyles increase the risk for developing a number of chronic diseases, but there are few studies examining how lifestyle changes impact metabolic syndrome. This study analyzed the association between two-year changes in key lifestyle risk metrics and incident metabolic syndrome in adults. A retrospective cohort study was conducted using data from metabolic syndrome free adults in the Heart of New Ulm Project (New Ulm, MN. The outcome was incident metabolic syndrome observed two years after baseline in 2009. The primary predictor was change in optimal lifestyle score based on four behavioral risk factors, including smoking, alcohol use, fruit/vegetable consumption, and physical activity. In the analytical sample of 1059 adults, 12% developed metabolic syndrome by 2011. Multivariable regression models (adjusted for baseline lifestyle score, age, sex, education, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes revealed that a two-year decrease in optimal lifestyle score was associated with significantly greater odds of incident metabolic syndrome (OR = 2.92; 95% CI: 1.69, 5.04; p < 0.001. This association was primarily driven by changes in obesity, fruit/vegetable consumption, and alcohol intake. As compared to improving poor lifestyle habits, maintaining a healthy lifestyle seemed to be most helpful in avoiding metabolic syndrome over the two-year study timeframe.

  3. A healthy lifestyle coaching-persuasive application for patients with type 2 diabetes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fico, G; Fioravanti, A; Arredondo, M T; Ardigó, D; Guillén, A

    2010-01-01

    Losing weight can be one of the toughest objectives related to diabetes treatment, especially for Type 2 diabetes mellitus. This paper describes a tool to set goals to achieve lifestyle behavioral changes, and keep track of the benefits derived from these changes. This strategy leans on the capability of evaluating users' compliance to treatment, identifying key points where the lack of motivation causes therapy dropping, and on the better resources that physicians will have to adjust the treatments and the prescriptions.

  4. Adult height, dietary patterns, and healthy aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Wenjie; Hagan, Kaitlin A; Heianza, Yoriko; Sun, Qi; Rimm, Eric B; Qi, Lu

    2017-08-01

    Background: Adult height has shown directionally diverse associations with several age-related disorders, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, decline in cognitive function, and mortality. Objective: We investigated the associations of adult height with healthy aging measured by a full spectrum of health outcomes, including incidence of chronic diseases, memory, physical functioning, and mental health, among populations who have survived to older age, and whether lifestyle factors modified such relations. Design: We included 52,135 women (mean age: 44.2 y) from the Nurses' Health Study without chronic diseases in 1980 and whose health status was available in 2012. Healthy aging was defined as being free of 11 major chronic diseases and having no reported impairment of subjective memory, physical impairment, or mental health limitations. Results: Of all eligible study participants, 6877 (13.2%) were classified as healthy agers. After adjustment for demographic and lifestyle factors, we observed an 8% (95% CI: 6%, 11%) decrease in the odds of healthy aging per SD (0.062 m) increase in height. Compared with the lowest category of height (≤1.57 m), the OR of achieving healthy aging in the highest category (≥1.70 m) was 0.80 (95% CI: 0.73, 0.87; P -trend healthy aging ( P -interaction = 0.005), and among the individual dietary factors characterizing the prudent dietary pattern, fruit and vegetable intake showed the strongest effect modification ( P -interaction = 0.01). The association of greater height with reduced odds of healthy aging appeared to be more evident among women with higher adherence to the prudent dietary pattern rich in vegetable and fruit intake. Conclusions: Greater height was associated with a modest decrease in the likelihood of healthy aging. A prudent diet rich in fruit and vegetables might modify the relation. © 2017 American Society for Nutrition.

  5. Randomised controlled trial of a healthy lifestyle intervention among smokers with psychotic disorders: Outcomes to 36 months.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, Amanda L; Richmond, Robyn; Kay-Lambkin, Frances J; Filia, Sacha L; Castle, David; Williams, Jill M; Lewin, Terry J; Clark, Vanessa; Callister, Robin; Palazzi, Kerrin

    2018-03-01

    People living with psychotic disorders (schizophrenia spectrum and bipolar disorders) have high rates of cardiovascular disease risk behaviours, including smoking, physical inactivity and poor diet. We report cardiovascular disease risk, smoking cessation and other risk behaviour outcomes over 36 months following recruitment into a two-arm randomised controlled trial among smokers with psychotic disorders. Participants ( N = 235) drawn from three sites were randomised to receive nicotine replacement therapy plus (1) a Healthy Lifestyles intervention delivered over approximately 9 months or (2) a largely telephone-delivered intervention (designed to control for nicotine replacement therapy provision, session frequency and other monitoring). The primary outcome variables were 10-year cardiovascular disease risk and smoking status, while the secondary outcomes included weekly physical activity, unhealthy eating, waist circumference, psychiatric symptomatology, depression and global functioning. Significant reductions in cardiovascular disease risk and smoking were detected across the 36-month follow-up period in both intervention conditions, with no significant differences between conditions. One-quarter (25.5%) of participants reported reducing cigarettes per day by 50% or more at multiple post-treatment assessments; however, few (8.9%) managed to sustain this across the majority of time points. Changes in other health behaviours or lifestyle factors were modest; however, significant improvements in depression and global functioning were detected over time in both conditions. Participants experiencing worse 'social discomfort' at baseline (e.g. anxiety, mania, poor self-esteem and social disability) had on average significantly worse global functioning, lower scores on the 12-Item Short Form Health Survey physical scale and significantly greater waist circumference. Although the telephone-delivered intervention was designed as a comparison condition, it

  6. Are metabolic signatures mediating the relationship between lifestyle factors and hepatocellular carcinoma risk?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Assi, Nada; Thomas, Duncan C; Leitzman, Michael

    2018-01-01

    BACKGROUND: The "meeting-in-the-middle" (MITM) is a principle to identify exposure biomarkers that are also predictors of disease. The MITM statistical framework was applied in a nested case-control study of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) within EPIC where healthy lifestyle index (HLI) variables...

  7. Attitude of secondary school youth to the healthy nutrition

    OpenAIRE

    Řeháková, Jarmila

    2016-01-01

    This work is focused on the point of the secondary school youth attitude on the issue of the rational nutrition. Using the questionnaire investigation that is divided into several research areas I am trying to prove or disconfirm the existence of the mutual relationship between the branch of study and the preferences of healthy nutrition and healthy lifestyle for youth. My thesis deals with the question of a provable relationship in knowledge achieved in the field of healthy nutrition and hea...

  8. Lifestyle and dietary habits of an obese pregnant cohort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindsay, Karen L; Heneghan, Clara; McNulty, Breige; Brennan, Lorraine; McAuliffe, Fionnuala M

    2015-01-01

    Obese pregnant women are the focus of numerous dietary and lifestyle intervention studies, however there is a paucity of literature examining the habitual dietary and lifestyle habits of this population. This paper aims to assess maternal dietary and lifestyle habits in an obese cohort, in order to identify priority areas to be addressed in future studies and in clinical practice. This prospective observational study recruited 100 pregnant women with a body mass index 30.0-39.9 kg/m(2) from routine antenatal clinics. Dietary intakes were assessed using a 3-day food diary and a structured lifestyle questionnaire assessed physical activity levels, smoking and alcohol habits and wellbeing. Macronutrient intakes as a percentage of total energy were not compliant to healthy eating guidelines with an inadequate intake of carbohydrate and excess intake of saturated fat. Compliance to recommended intakes of calcium, iron, folate and vitamin D was poor from diet alone. The consumption of energy dense food groups high in fat and sugar was greater than for published pregnant populations and the general female non-pregnant population. One-third of women reported engaging in weekly physical activity that would comply with recommendations for pregnant women while 25 % reported low mood status indicating potential depression. High intakes of energy-dense processed foods and poor compliance to micronutrient recommendations are critical dietary issues of concern among obese pregnant women. Low mood is a barrier to motivation for changing behaviour which would also need to be addressed in future lifestyle intervention studies.

  9. Factors Related to Healthy Diet and Physical Activity in Hospital-Based Clinical Nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albert, Nancy M; Butler, Robert; Sorrell, Jeanne

    2014-09-30

    Hospitals often promote healthy lifestyles, but little is known about nurses' actual diet and physical activity. Greater understanding about these lifestyle choices for clinical nurses may improve existing hospital-based programs and/or create desirable services. This article discusses a study that considered diet and physical activity of clinical nurses, using elements of Pender's self-care theory as a conceptual framework. Study methods included a cross-sectional, correlational design and a convenience sample of 278 nurses who worked on units with 24 hours/day and seven days-per-week responsibilities. Participants completed diet and exercise questionnaires about perceptions of attitudes and opinions, barriers, diet benefits/exercise motivators, self-efficacy, and locus of control, and personal and work characteristics. Diet and activity categories were created. Study results demonstrated that over 50% of nurses had moderately healthy diets but were insufficiently active. Healthy diet and physical activity levels were associated with higher self-efficacy, more diet benefits and physical activity motivators, fewer perceived barriers, and confidence in body image. The article discussion and conclusion sections note areas for future research and suggest that focused interventions that address benefits, motivators, and self-efficacy may increase participation in hospital-based programs and enhance healthy lifestyle for hospital-based clinical nurses.

  10. Relationship between the three kinds of healthy habits and the metabolic syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wada, Takashi; Fukumoto, Tsutomu; Ito, Kyoko; Hasegawa, Yasutaka; Osaki, Takanobu

    2009-08-01

    In 2005, the diagnostic criteria for Japan-specific metabolic syndrome were published. The representative health habits are Breslow's seven healthy practices, Morimoto's eight items and Ikeda's six healthy habits. We investigated the prevalence of metabolic syndrome related with life-style strongly among these three sets of healthy habit. Cross-sectional study was conducted for the prevalence of metabolic syndrome by practicing these healthy habits. 20,776 Japanese individuals visited the Health Science Center at Jikei University Hospital in Japan for medical check-ups. Subjects were divided into 8 groups based on gender and age (females in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s, and males in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s). Participants completed a simple, self-administered lifestyle questionnaire based on the three sets of healthy habits. Subjects were divided into three groups (poor, moderate and favorable) according to each of the healthy habit criteria. Significant differences were observed among 10 groups for Breslow's seven healthy practices, 4 groups for Morimoto's eight items, and 13 groups for Ikeda's six healthy habits. Ikeda's six healthy habits showed the most significant differences among the three sets of habits. Among the three methods tested, to practice more Ikeda's healthy habits were the most useful for metabolic syndrome. © 2009 Asian Oceanian Association for the Study of Obesity . Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Evaluation of a web-based lifestyle coach designed to maintain a healthy bodyweight

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kelders, Saskia Marion; van Gemert-Pijnen, Julia E.W.C.; Werkman, Andrea; Seydel, E.R.

    2010-01-01

    We evaluated a web-based intervention, the Healthy Weight Assistant (HWA), which was designed to help people with a healthy bodyweight, or those who are slightly overweight, to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Four evaluation methods were used: (1) pre- and post-test questionnaires; (2) real

  12. Promoting healthy lifestyle behaviours and well-being among nursing students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McSharry, Patsy; Timmins, Fiona

    2017-02-08

    First-year university students often embark on university life with excitement. In addition to experiencing greater freedom, they begin to take responsibility for their lives. However, it can be challenging for students to balance their studies with their new self-care responsibilities, while forming peer relationships. Some students may eat a suboptimal diet, for example they may regularly consume 'fast food' rather than healthier alternatives. Their physical activity may also decrease, as a result of time constraints and/or lifestyle choices. A suboptimal diet and reduction in physical activity, combined with possible stress associated with this life transition, can result in adverse health effects, for example weight gain and mental health issues. This article aims to support nursing students to adopt a practical approach to maintaining their health and well-being as they adjust to university life.

  13. A holistic approach to healthy ageing: how can people live longer, healthier lives?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calder, P C; Carding, S R; Christopher, G; Kuh, D; Langley-Evans, S C; McNulty, H

    2018-06-03

    Although lifespan is increasing, there is no evidence to suggest that older people are experiencing better health in their later years than previous generations. Nutrition, at all stages of life, plays an important role in determining health and wellbeing. A roundtable meeting of UK experts on nutrition and ageing considered key aspects of the diet-ageing relationship and developed a consensus position on the main priorities for research and public health actions that are required to help people live healthier lives as they age. The group consensus highlighted the requirement for a life course approach, recognising the multifactorial nature of the impact of ageing. Environmental and lifestyle influences at any life stage are modified by genetic factors and early development. The response to the environment at each stage of life can determine the impact of lifestyle later on. There are no key factors that act in isolation to determine patterns of ageing and it is a combination of environmental and social factors that drives healthy or unhealthy ageing. Too little is known about how contemporary dietary patterns and sedentary lifestyles will impact upon healthy ageing in future generations and this is a priority for future research. There is good evidence to support change to lifestyle (i.e. diet, nutrition and physical) activity in relation to maintaining or improving body composition, cognitive health and emotional intelligence, immune function and vascular health. Lifestyle change at any stage of life may extend healthy lifespan, although the impact of early changes appears to be greatest. © 2018 The British Dietetic Association Ltd.

  14. Demographics and beliefs of consumers indicating preference for healthy food or dietary supplements / Wilna Cornelia du Toit

    OpenAIRE

    Du Toit, Wilna Cornelia

    2003-01-01

    Healthy food and/or supplements may be used in the context of a healthy lifestyle or as a means to compensate for an unhealthy lifestyle. Consumers are increasingly taking charge of their health and manipulate food choices or use dietary supplement regimes. By analysing usage across segments, marketers can determine the optimum audience for any specific health and wellness product. Marketers can develop marketing plans to the common motives, beliefs and behaviours of the opt...

  15. Motivations for Health and Their Associations With Lifestyle, Work Style, Health, Vitality, and Employee Productivity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Scheppingen, A.R. van; Vroome, E.M.M. de; Have, K.C.J.M. ten; Zwetsloot, G.I.J.M.; Bos, E.H.; Mechelen, W. van

    2014-01-01

    Objective: Investigate employees' underlying motivational regulatory styles toward healthy living and their associations with lifestyle, work style, health, vitality, and productivity. Methods: Regression analyses on cross-sectional data from Dutch employees (n = 629), obtained as baseline

  16. Motivations for Health and Their Associations With Lifestyle, Work Style, Health, Vitality, and Employee Productivity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Scheppingen, A.R.; de Vroome, E.M.M.; ten Have, K.C.J.M.; Zwetsloot, G.I.J.M.; Bos, E.H.; van Mechelen, W.

    2014-01-01

    OBJECTIVE:: Investigate employees' underlying motivational regulatory styles toward healthy living and their associations with lifestyle, work style, health, vitality, and productivity. METHODS:: Regression analyses on cross-sectional data from Dutch employees (n = 629), obtained as baseline

  17. A Computerized Lifestyle Application to Promote Multiple Health Behaviors at the Workplace: Testing Its Behavioral and Psychological Effects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleig, Lena; Wiedemann, Amelie U; Schwarzer, Ralf

    2015-01-01

    Background Preventive health behaviors, such as regular physical activity and healthy nutrition, are recommended to maintain employability and to facilitate the health of employees. Theory-based workplace health promotion needs to include psychological constructs and consider the motivational readiness (so-called stages of change) of employees. According to the stages, people can be grouped as nonintenders (not motivated to change and not performing the goal behavior), intenders (decided to adopt the goal behavior but not started yet), or actors (performing the goal behavior already). The tailoring to these stages can be done computer based and should make workplace health promotion more effective. Objective It was tested whether a parsimonious computer-based health promotion program implemented at the workplace was effective in terms of lifestyle changes and psychological outcomes as well as body weight. We hypothesized that the stage-matched intervention would outperform the one-size-fits-all active control condition (standard care intervention). Methods In a randomized controlled trial, a total of 1269 employees were recruited by a trained research assistant at their workplace during a routine medical examination. After excluding noneligible employees, 560 completed Time 1 (T1), and 384 also completed Time 2 (T2), achieving a retention rate of 68.6%. Two fully automated computer-based treatments were adopted: (1) an active control condition with information about benefits of exercise and healthy nutrition (n=52), or (2) a stage-matched multiple-behavior intervention that provided different psychological treatments to 9 subgroups, addressing stages of change (nonintenders, intenders, and actors per behavior; n=332). Baseline assessments (T1) on behavior, psychological constructs, and body weight were repeated after 4 weeks (T2). Results The stage-matched intervention outperformed the active control condition for lifestyle changes containing physical activity and

  18. An Interactive Web-Based Intervention to Achieve Healthy Weight in Young Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wald, Ellen R; Ewing, Linda J; Moyer, Stacey C L; Eickhoff, Jens C

    2018-05-01

    This prospective, randomized, controlled trial for parents of overweight and obese 3- to 7-year-olds was performed to assess the feasibility of a program promoting healthy eating and lifestyle by targeting parents as agents of change. The intervention was composed of 6-in-person group sessions and a customized website over 12 months. The control group received customary care. The primary outcome was feasibility of the intervention to promote healthy behavior change measured by attendance. The secondary outcome was effectiveness assessed by attaining reduced body mass index (BMI) z scores, healthy behavior changes and increased parent self-efficacy. Seventy-three child-parent dyads were enrolled; 14 parents never attended any sessions. Participation in follow-up assessments did not meet the hypothesized level. Ultimate BMI z scores did not differ between control and intervention groups. Parenting skills did not improve in the intervention group. This intervention to achieve healthy lifestyle changes in children via their parents as "change agents" was unsuccessful.

  19. BeHealthy Charities Aid Foundation Program, Russia: a Program Impact Pathways (PIP) analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mukhina, Marina; Novikova, Irina

    2014-09-01

    In 2007, the Charities Aid Foundation Branch in Russia, under the initiative of and with financial support from the Mondelēz International Foundation and Mondelēz International, launched the charitable BeHealthy Program. The program's main focus is the implementation of four interrelated activities: conducting lessons for schoolchildren on healthy nutrition, with an emphasis on breakfast; healthy cooking lessons with children; cultivating nutritional plants; and providing conditions to encourage children to engage in more physical activity. The program serves more than 13,000 children attending public schools in the Leningrad (Lomonosovskii District), Vladimir, and Novgorod regions. BeHealthy provides funding for schools and comprehensive educational materials to help schoolchildren develop habits of healthy nutrition and physical activity, as well as consulting and expert support for school staff and other key stakeholders. The program brings in experts on program implementation and training for teachers. Curriculum support also includes printed and Web-based healthy lifestyle educational materials on best practices and positive experience, as well as meetings and conferences with school representatives and local authorities. One of the biggest challenges for program managers is to fully understand the complexities of the program, and why and how it is expected to induce changes in healthy lifestyle behaviors of the schoolchildren. For more comprehensive understanding, we performed a Program Impact Pathways (PIP) analysis to identify Critical Quality Control Points (CCPs) and a suite of core indicators of the program's impact on healthy lifestyles. The findings were presented at the Healthy Life-styles Program Evaluation Workshop held in Granada, Spain, 13-14 September 2013, under the auspices of the Mondelēz International Foundation. First, we developed an updated logic model based on how the program was executed. We then translated the logic model into a PIP

  20. Lifestyle and the risk of diabetes mellitus in a Japanese population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tatsumi, Yukako; Ohno, Yuko; Morimoto, Akiko; Nishigaki, Yoshio; Mizuno, Shoichi; Watanabe, Shaw

    2013-06-01

    The objective was to examine the association between lifestyle and risk for diabetes. For an average of 9.9 years, this study prospectively followed a cohort of 7,211 (2,524 men and 4,687 women) community residents aged 30-69 years without diabetes at a health check-up conducted between April 1990 and March 1992 until diabetes was confirmed or until the end of 2006. The subjects were divided into 6 groups according to their total scores of Breslow's lifestyle index (1-2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 points). The association between lifestyle and diabetes incidence was investigated using Cox proportional hazards regression models. The results showed that the multivariate-adjusted hazard ratios were 0.45 in subjects who scored 5 points, 0.39 in subjects who scored 6 points, and 0.31 in subjects who scored 7 points, compared with subjects who scored 1-2 points. These data indicate that the healthy behaviors prevent the incidence of diabetes.