Abstract
BackgroundResearch findings indicate that four health-related behaviors (HRBs), smoking, alcohol, diet, and physical activity, do not co-occur within individuals by chance and therefore cluster. To date, there is a lack of research investigating the clustering of these HRBs in the Japanese population.MethodsThe Japanese National Health and Nutrition Survey 2010 was used, containing information on 8,015 community-dwelling adults. Latent profile analysis identified distinct cluster patterns of four HRBs: smoking status, alcohol consumption, calorie intake, and the number of steps per day.ResultsFor men, four distinct HRB clusters were identified. The largest cluster (54%) was characterized by drinking more than Japan’s recommended alcohol guidelines and walking an inadequate number of steps per day. A small cluster (4%) also emerged, characterized by smoking, high calorie intake, and exceeding alcohol guidelines. Members of these clusters had higher systolic blood pressure than those in the remaining clusters. For women, five distinct HRB clusters were identified. The largest cluster (57%) was characterized by not smoking or drinking and walking an inadequate number of steps per day. For both genders, there was a relationship between cluster membership and age. Cluster membership was associated with income and health status among men but not women.ConclusionDetecting distinct clusters of HRBs in a Japanese population-based survey provides a person-centered understanding of Japanese lifestyles. This approach can assist policy makers in Japan and overseas to identify new strategies for targeting behavioral risk factors and make health promotion policies more effective in their respective countries.
Highlights
Research findings indicate that people practice multiple healthrelated behaviors (HRBs) in their everyday lives and that these health-related behaviors (HRBs) do not co-occur within individuals by chance and cluster.[1,2] This suggests that HRBs are inter-related and that the clustering approach is necessary to study patterns of health behavior
Based on the health status measures participants could be considered to be in good health, with average body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure readings, and a relatively low proportion defined as having diabetes (n = 926, 11.55%) or hypercholesterolemia (n = 1,164, 14.52%)
Using latent variable modelling we have identified four male and five female distinct patterns of HRBs, whose membership is associated to varying degrees with both socio-demographic characteristics and health status
Summary
Research findings indicate that people practice multiple healthrelated behaviors (HRBs) in their everyday lives and that these HRBs do not co-occur within individuals by chance and cluster.[1,2] This suggests that HRBs are inter-related and that the clustering approach is necessary to study patterns of health behavior. Research indicates that HRB cluster membership is linked to age, gender, socio-economic position,[1,2] and health status.[3] These clusters may consist of negative HRBs that are health damaging (eg, smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, a diet high in sugar and fat and low in fruit and vegetables, and physical inactivity), positive HRBs that are health promoting (eg, not smoking, light or moderate alcohol consumption, a diet low in sugar and fat and high in fruit and vegetables and low in sugar and fat, and regular physical activity), or a mixture of both. There is a lack of research investigating the clustering of these HRBs in the Japanese population
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