If we were to ask our family, friends, and colleagues to tell us about their understanding of unhealthy lifestyle, many of them could immediately come up with a long list of habits that have detrimental effects on our health and well-being. So, in a nutshell, habits that are made up of choices that lead to adverse health outcomes are associated with unhealthy lifestyles. Such habits typically include bad eating habits, smoking, excess alcohol consumption, lack of physical activity, chronic inadequate sleep, risky sexual behaviors, poor hygiene, skipping routine medical checkups, and many more.
Although the adverse effects of these unhealthy habits mentioned above and elsewhere are apparent to many people and patients, yet most people find it very hard to disassociate themselves from these unhealthy behaviors. These days, we hear a lot about living a healthy lifestyle, but what exactly does that mean? Is it just leading lifestyles that include choices that are opposite of unhealthy lifestyles as outlined above?
Obviously, there is more than one way for individuals to stay healthy. And again, if you ask people around you to describe what a healthy lifestyle is, you are probably going to get different answers every time from different people of all walks of life. These differences are a reflection of the fact that people from all walks of life make choices based on their culture, personal priorities, and options available within their socioeconomic and geographical environments.
Therefore, healthy lifestyle may be defined as any habits associated with positive health outcomes as well as the lack of health-harming practices based on all the choices accessible to an individual in their socioeconomic and geographical environment.
A healthy lifestyle should leave an individual fit, energetic, and reduce their risk for morbidity, disability, and untimely death, based on the choices they make about their daily modifiable behaviors. There are so many choice combinations for health-promoting habit pattern, it is therefore, essential for people to understand the benefits of healthy lifestyle choices and distinguish them from risky lifestyle behavior choices.
It is important to note that healthy lifestyle makes a big difference in a person’s health outcomes. Researchers have found that adopting a healthy lifestyle could substantially reduce morbidity, premature mortality, and prolong life expectancy. Regardless of age, fitness level or body type, it is never too early or too late for anybody to work towards building healthy habits, they just need to know how to do it effectively.
Sources:
- https://www.berkeleywellbeing.com
- https://www.healthfully.com
- https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthy-lifestyle