Lifestyle Behaviors for Lifelong Health 1

Lifestyle Behaviors for Lifelong Health

Megan Sharpe

California State University, Channel Islands

Senior Capstone

HLTH 499

March 5, 2020
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Introduction

A rising focus in healthcare is the use of preventative medicine. The precursors for many

diseases are attributed to lifestyle behaviors. These behaviors encompass physical activity, diet,

adequate rest, leisure time, stress, and recreational use of drugs (Aceijas, 2017, Deasy, 2015,

Jakubiec, 2015, Sánchez-Ojeda, 2015, Yang, 2017). Many of these behaviors or habits are

typically acquired in adolescence. Pertaining to this logic, the following research articles were

chosen to illustrate in this literature review. The research conducted throughout these studies is

on university students. It is imperative to understand lifestyle behaviors of college students to

uncover if their choices predetermine future health outcomes.

Application

Once a lifestyle behavior is established that behavior will transition and persist until later

adulthood directly impacting the outcome of lifelong health. All of these studies conducted a

cross-sectional study (Aceijas, 2017, Deasy, 2015, Jakubiec, 2015, Sánchez-Ojeda, 2015, Yang,

2017). The research published by The associations among individual factors, ehealth literacy,

and health-promoting lifestyles among college students, demonstrated a very effective method in

data collection pertaining to individual factors. Participants were given a self-evaluation

concerning their behaviors and perception of health. Based on the question they were to indicate

their responses on a scale of 1 to 5 (Yang et al., 2017). Data was then collected and analyzed;

such procedures followed in all of the studies. Though the methods in data collection and

analysis slightly differ in each study the results yielded the same. Concluding that the hypothesis

of lifestyle behaviors is a determinate in health outcomes. Of the following studies four of the

five indicated the importance of higher education in promoting healthy lifestyle behaviors

(Deasy, 2015, Jakubiec, 2015, Sánchez-Ojeda, 2015, Yang, 2017). While the study Determinants
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of health- related lifestyle among university students, indicated that students with higher

education in fact are more “susceptible to adopting unhealthy routines. For instance, weight gain

in student’s population is remarkedly higher than in the equivalent population not attending

colleges or universities. Stress exposure negatively encourages poor eating habits with an

increasing tendency to snack, skip breakfast, and consume large portions” (Aceijas et al., 2017).

Though higher education positively or negatively impacting healthy lifestyle is contradicted,

these results further prove that behavior poses as a risk factor. The prevalence of obesity, chronic

diseases, and diabetes is of great concern to the rising generation. It is behavior and coping

mechanism developed in adolescence that will accompany an individual throughout their life an

act as a determinate for chronic disease and premature deaths.

Conclusion

These studies are applicable to the general population. Although, this research was

conducted on college students it goes to show just how influential behaviors established in

adolescence can transcend into adulthood. The choices that we make now affect the rest of our

life to come. According to the all the research complied in the studies, the behaviors that were

determining factors included; physical activity, diet, adequate rest, leisure time, stress, and

recreational use of drugs (Aceijas, 2017, Deasy, 2015, Jakubiec, 2015, Sánchez-Ojeda, 2015,

Yang, 2017). Based off the collected data it indicates that there is a direct correlation to lifestyle

behaviors that result in health predictions later in life.

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References

Aceijas, C., Waldhäusl, S., Lambert, N., Cassar, S., & Bello-Corassa, R. (2017). Determinants of

health-related lifestyles among university students. Perspectives in Public Health, 137(4),

227–236. https://doi.org/10.1177/1757913916666875

Deasy, C., Coughlan, B., Pironom, J., Jourdan, D., & Mcnamara, P. M. (2015). Psychological

distress and lifestyle of students: implications for health promotion. Health promotion

international, 30(1), 77–87. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/dau086

Jakubiec, D., Kornafel, D., Cygan, A., Górska-Kłęk, L., & Chromik, K. (2015). Lifestyle of

students from different universities in Wroclaw, Poland. Roczniki Panstwowego Zakladu

Higieny, 66(4), 337–344.

Sánchez-Ojeda, M. A., & De Luna-Bertos, E. (2015). Hábitos de vida saludable en

la población universitaria [Healthy lifestyles of the university

population]. Nutricion hospitalaria, 31(5), 1910–1919.

https://doi.org/10.3305/nh.2015.31.5.8608

Yang, S. C., Luo, Y. F., & Chiang, C. H. (2017). The associations among individual factors,

ehealth literacy, and health-promoting lifestyles among college students. Journal of

medical Internet research, 19(1), e15. https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.5964