Health Behavior And Psychological Well-being Of Young Adults

Abstract

PURPOSE: Healthy lifestyle and habitual physical activity (PA) are strongly and inversely related to all-cause mortality and in particular to coronary artery disease. While the impact of lifestyle on the physiological aspects is well documented in the literature, there appears to be limited attention given to the psychological health and well-being of young adults. Although stress amongst young adults has been associated with unhealthy behaviors, the nature of these relationships has yet to be clarified. PURPOSE: To examine the relationship between behavioral aspects such as active lifestyle and health habits on psychological well-being amongst young adults; to explore possible differences in patterns of behavior and health habits between specific groups within the targeted population (e.g., gender, age, and ethnicity). METHODS: 306 female and 104 male University students (mean = 22.8 ± 5.7 yrs) from Central England completed a questionnaire that included self-report measures on health status, psychological well-being, PA, drinking and smoking habits, dietary intake and the barriers to healthy lifestyle. RESULTS: Pearson's correlations revealed a significant negative relationship between PA and psychological stress (r = -.218, p <.001), PA and fat intake (r = -.138, p =.005) and PA and alcohol consumption (r = -.132, p = 008). Additionally, high alcohol consumption appeared to be positively associated with fat intake (r =.132 p =.008) and smoking behavior (r =.202, p <.001). Furthermore, ANCOVA revealed significant differences due to ethnicity on high intensity PA for males and females when controlling for perceived stress (F3,401 = 2.862, p =.037). CONCLUSIONS: Regular PA was associated with better perceived psychological health. Those who exercised regularly reported less psychological stress, lower alcohol consumption and less fat intake. Generally, males reported significantly higher levels of PA than females across all ethnic groups with these differences being particularly marked in the South East Asian group. Improving our understanding of the factors that affect young adults' health behaviour provides much needed information for developing interventions. Hence, further studies are warranted to evaluate factors that may influence the uptake of unhealthy behaviors within this population.