Abstract
Background: Health-related Habits (HrH) are a major priority in healthcare. However there is little agreement on whether exercise, diet, smoking or dental hygiene are better described as lifestyles, habits or behaviors, and on what is their hierarchical relationship. This research is aimed at representing the basic concepts which are assumed to constitute the conceptual framework enabling us to interpret and organize the field of HrH. Methods: A group of 29 experts with different backgrounds agreed on the definition and hierarchy of HrH following an iterative process which involved framing analysis and nominal group techniques. Results: Formal definitions of health-related behavior, habit, life-style and life-style profile were produced. In addition a series of basic descriptors were identified: health reserve, capital, risk and load. Six main categories of HrH were chosen based on relevance to longevity: diet/exercise, vitality/stress, sleep, cognition, substance use and other risk. Attributes of HrH are clinical meaningfulness, quantifiability, temporal stability, associated morbidity, and unitarity (non-redundancy). Two qualifiers (polarity and stages of change) have also been described. Conclusions: The concepts represented here lay the groundwork for the development of clinical and policy tools related to HrH and lifestyle. An adaptation of this system to define targets of health interventions and to develop the classification of person factors in ICF may be needed in the future.
Highlights
The first recognition of the importance of promoting healthy lifestyles could be traced back to Baron Horder’s speech in Leeds in 1937 [1], it was not until 1974 that the Lalonde report in Canada provided a specific policy agenda on the area of “lifestyle” [2]
Between 2004 and 2010, AECES conducted a framing analysis [18] of the field of health-related habits, created a taxonomy and an online toolkit for evaluation of Health-related Habits (HrH), and analyzed the feasibility of eVITAL according to expert opinion and data from a demonstration study of 11 middle-age subjects, healthy by self-report, from whom written informed consent was obtained
The panel of experts adopted the tenets of longevity medicine, in which major endpoints include mortality, disability-adjusted life years, and years lived without disability within a life-span perspective
Summary
The first recognition of the importance of promoting healthy lifestyles could be traced back to Baron Horder’s speech in Leeds in 1937 [1], it was not until 1974 that the Lalonde report in Canada provided a specific policy agenda on the area of “lifestyle” [2]. Countries have monitored temporal trends in HrH and related illnesses and health indicators, and have launched ambitious plans to improve the HrH of the population [6] Despite these efforts, there doubtless exists a gap between the importance of lifestyle in the health of individuals and the capacity of physicians to evaluate and intervene in the lifestyle of an individual patient [7]. Conclusions: The concepts represented here lay the groundwork for the development of clinical and policy tools related to HrH and lifestyle. An adaptation of this system to define targets of health interventions and to develop the classification of person factors in ICF may be needed in the future
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
