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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2022) | Viewed by 36865

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Thomas E. Dorner

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Guest Editor

Karl-Landsteiner Institute for Health Promotion Research, Gesundheitsplatz 1, 3454 Sitzenberg-Reidling, Austria
Interests: public health; health promotion; disease prevention; lifestyle; physical activity; nutrition; social capital
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Katharina Viktoria Stein

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Guest Editor

Social Insurance Fund for Public Service, Railway and Mining Industries, 1080 Vienna, Austria
Karl-Landsteiner Institute for Health Promotion Research, 3454 Sitzenberg-Reidling, Austria
Interests: social determinants of health; health behaviour and morbidity; health promotion

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is well established that 90% of our health outcomes are determined by factors other than clinical care, and our lifestyle choices play a major role in this. To be able to make healthy choices, change our health behaviour, and modify our lifestyle requires not only personal motivation but also support from our community and the environment we live in. Whether it is to promote health independently from possible diseases, to stay healthy and prevent disease, avert progression of diseases, or as part of rehabilitation and reablement, health behaviour and lifestyle are crucial levers for success. Actions need to be taken on all levels of the system, from the individual to the policy level; the health workforce needs to partner with individuals and communities to implement changes; and the system needs to build and design an environment, which supports healthy lifestyles and behaviour. They are at the core of a holistic, life course approach to health and wellbeing. Enabling positive health behaviour and lifestyle choices necessitates a health in all policies approach, integrating health, care, education, and infrastructure, to name just the most obvious sectors.

This Special Issue wants to explore these many-faceted aspects and factors influencing health behaviour and lifestyles by looking at (a) research and evidence, (b) good examples and case studies, and (c) policies and structures to support sustainable health behaviour and lifestyle choices.

Prof. Dr. Thomas Dorner
Dr. Katharina Viktoria Stein
Guest Editors

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Keywords

Health behaviour and lifestyle
Health influencing factors
Health literacy
Healthy cities and communities
Interventions to support behaviour and lifestyle changes
Life course approaches, age group-specific approaches
Health promoting workplaces
Integrated care approaches
Nutrition and health diet
Physical activity and physical training
Health resources and resilience
Social capital
Combination of different health behaviour measures

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Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

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10 pages, 329 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluating the Effects of Social Capital, Self-Stigma, and Social Identity in Predicting Behavioral Intentions of Agricultural Producers to Seek Mental Health Assistance

by Carrie N. Baker, Robert Strong, Carly McCord and Tobin Redwine

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(19), 12110; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912110 - 24 Sep 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3943

Abstract

Mental illness significantly impacts agricultural producers, whose occupation puts them at increased risk for compromised mental health and related disorders. Help-seeking intention, which can be mediated by variables such as social identity, social capital, and self-stigma, can lead to improved mental health outcomes. This cross-sectional study aimed to describe the intention of agricultural producers to seek mental health assistance and determine whether these three variables are associated with help-seeking intention. Researchers administered a cross-sectional survey of agricultural producers from two regions in 32 Texas counties. Researchers surveyed a sample of Texas agricultural producers (n = 429) to understand their social identity, social capital, and degree of self-stigma, and their intent to seek help for personal or emotional problems and for suicide ideation. Researchers identified a relationship between social identity and social capital, which indicated that social identity is moderately associated with greater levels of social capital. The multiple linear regression analyses confirmed that social capital and self-stigma are significant predictors of producers’ help-seeking intention for both help-seeking types. These results signify the importance of efforts to increase social capital, increase mental health literacy and tailor training to address self-stigma and enhance positive help-seeking behavior among agricultural producers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health Behaviour and Lifestyle)

10 pages, 497 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Health Literacy among Pregnant Women in a Lifestyle Intervention Trial

by Farah Nawabi, Franziska Krebs, Laura Lorenz, Arim Shukri, Adrienne Alayli and Stephanie Stock

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(10), 5808; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19105808 - 10 May 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3529

Abstract

Health literacy plays a crucial role during pregnancy, influencing the mother’s health behavior which in turn affects the unborn child’s health. To date, there are only few studies that report on health literacy among pregnant women or even interventions to promote health literacy. GeMuKi (acronym for “Gemeinsam Gesund: Vorsorge plus für Mutter und Kind”—Strengthening health promotion: enhanced check-up visits for mother and child) is a cluster-randomized controlled trial, aimed at improving health literacy in pregnant women by means of a lifestyle intervention in the form of brief counseling. The women in the intervention group receive counseling on lifestyle topics, such as nutrition and physical activity, during their regular prenatal check-ups. The counseling is tailored to the needs of pregnant women. Demographic data is collected at baseline using a paper-based questionnaire. Data on health literacy is collected using the Health Literacy Survey Europe with 16 items (HLS-EU-16) at baseline and the Brief Health Literacy Screener (BHLS) questionnaire at two points during the pregnancy by means of an app, which was developed specifically for the purpose of the project. The results of the study indicate that around 61.9% of the women participating in the GeMuKi study have an adequate level of health literacy at baseline. The regression analyses (general estimating equations) showed no significant effect of the GeMuKi intervention on general health literacy as measured by the BHLS (ß = 0.086, 95% CI [−0.016–0.187]). However, the intervention was significantly positively associated with pregnancy specific knowledge on lifestyle (ß = 0.089, 95% CI [0.024–0.154]). The results of this study indicate that GeMuKi was effective in improving specific pregnancy related knowledge, but did not improve general health literacy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health Behaviour and Lifestyle)

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13 pages, 492 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Analysis of the Nutritional Status and Dietary Habits among Children Aged 6–10 Years Old Attending Primary Schools in Poland

by Magdalena Potempa-Jeziorowska, Paweł Jonczyk, Elżbieta Świętochowska and Marek Kucharzewski

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(2), 953; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19020953 - 15 Jan 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3641

Abstract

A high prevalence of obesity among children is influenced by serious implications. Obesity mainly results from behavioral factors, such as improper dietary habits. This study aims to evaluate the nutritional status and dietary habits of children aged 6–10 (n = 908) attending primary schools in Poland, Europe. The research tool was a questionnaire that was completed by one of the children’s parents. A statistical analysis was made using statistical software. The value of p = 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. A total of 74.7% of children surveyed have a normal body mass. As many as 91.7% and 76.6% of children, respectively, eat a first and second breakfast daily. Nearly half of parents (48.9%) state that their child consumes milk or other dairy products daily. A total of 74.3% of children drink water daily. A total of 27.6% eats fish less frequently than once a week. A total of 7.6% of children eat fish several times a week. As many as 20.6% of the respondents state that their child eats brown bread several times a week, whereas 19.9% state that their child never eats brown bread. A total of 55.1% of children eat fruits and/or vegetables daily. A total of 14.1% of children surveyed consume sweets daily. The study revealed a positive correlation between BMI and the frequency of mineral water consumption (p = 0.013) in 9 y.o. girls. It was also revealed that the number of consumed fruit/vegetables increases with the BMI value among 10 y.o. boys (p = 0.044). Conclusions: The dietary habits of the investigated children are still improper. There is a great need for education on this issue, but family involvement is also required. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health Behaviour and Lifestyle)

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13 pages, 350 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Lifestyle Parameters in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus and in the General Adult Population—Trends over Five Years: Results of the Austrian National Health Interview Series

by Thomas Ernst Dorner, Christian Lackinger, Sandra Haider and Katharina Viktoria Stein

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(18), 9910; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189910 - 21 Sep 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3113

Abstract

Background: Not smoking, performing >150 min of aerobic physical activity (PA) and muscle strengthening exercises/week, and consuming >5 portions of fruit and vegetables/day are lifestyle recommendations for both the general population and people with diabetes mellitus (DM). Methods: A total of 15,771 and 15,461 persons from the Austrian Health Interview Surveys 2014 and 2019, respectively, including 4.9% and 6.0% of people with DM, were analysed in terms of their smoking, PA, and nutritional behaviours. Logistic regression models were performed for the lifestyle factors, adjusted for socio-demographic and health-related factors. Adjusted interactions between the survey year and DM on the lifestyle factors were computed. Results: The proportions of smokers were 23.9% and 20.2%, of people complying with the PA recommendations were 24.9% and 21.4%, and with fruit and vegetables recommendations were 7.1% and 5.5%, respectively, with significantly lower proportions of smokers and persons complying with the PA recommendations among people with DM. The fully adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence interval) for people with DM were 1.09 (0.94–1.26), 1.44 (1.23–1.69), and 0.90 (0.71–1.13) for smoking, not complying with PA recommendations, and not complying with fruit and vegetables recommendations, respectively. The proportion of people complying with PA recommendations decreased to a greater extent (p < 0.001) in people with DM (16.5% to 8.3%) compared to people without DM (25.3% to 22.3%). Conclusion: Diabetogenic lifestyle behaviours increased in the general Austrian population in recent years, which was especially true for people with DM regarding PA. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health Behaviour and Lifestyle)

9 pages, 331 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Psychometric Properties and Cultural Adaptation of the Polish Version of the Healthy Lifestyle and Personal Control Questionnaire (HLPCQ)

by Michał Czapla, Raúl Juárez-Vela, Anna Rozensztrauch, Piotr Karniej, Izabella Uchmanowicz, Iván Santolalla-Arnedo and Alicja Baska

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(17), 9190; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18179190 - 31 Aug 2021

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4848

Abstract

Background: Chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs), sometimes referred to as lifestyle diseases, are the most common cause of death and disability worldwide. Thus, healthcare professionals should be equipped with tools, knowledge, skills, and competencies in the newly distinguished field of lifestyle medicine. The purpose of this study was to test the psychometric properties of the Polish version of the Healthy Lifestyle and Personal Control Questionnaire (HLPCQ). The Polish version of the HLPCQ would further provide Polish healthcare professionals with a useful and convenient tool for routine lifestyle assessment while giving HLPCQ novel use and potential for further research. Methods: Before testing its psychometric properties, the HLPCQ was translated and adapted from the original Greek version into Polish. Subsequently, we tested the instrument’s psychometric properties on a sample of 2433 participants. In addition, we tested the factorial validity of the HLPCQ using confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis. Results: There were more female than male participants (91.78%). Most of them were middle-aged (30.40 ± 7.71), single (39.62%), and living with family (70.65%). In terms of residence, 1122 (46.12%) participants lived in cities with a population of over 500,000. In terms of reliability, the internal consistency of the Polish version and its domains is excellent. Cronbach’s alpha for each of the domains of the scale ranged between 0.6 and 0.9. Conclusions: The Polish version of the Healthy Lifestyle and Personal Control Questionnaire (HLPCQ) has good characteristics of factorial validity and can be used in clinical practice and research. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health Behaviour and Lifestyle)

13 pages, 409 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Well-Being at Work: A Cross-Sectional Study on the Portuguese Nutritionists

by Rita de Cássia Akutsu, Ada Rocha, Victor Viana, Luiz Akutsu, Izabel Cristina Silva, Raquel Braz Assunção Botelho, Heesup Han, António Raposo, Antonio Ariza-Montes, Luis Araya-Castillo and Renata Puppin Zandonadi

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(15), 7839; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18157839 - 23 Jul 2021

Viewed by 3298

Abstract

This exploratory, nationwide cross-sectional study was performed to investigate the well-being of Portuguese nutritionists, in addition to outlining their professional and demographic profile. Descriptive analyses were carried out to determine the measures relating to centralising tendency and dispersion of the sample. We compared means and proportions through t-tests and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The sample size was 206 individuals, respecting a minimum of eight respondents per item to validate the instrument. We recruited Nutritionists from Portugal nationwide using the list of electronic mail provided by the Order of Nutritionists. We sent an electronic mail to all the Nutritionists registered in this Order. We also used messaging applications and social networks (Instagram, Facebook) to reach Nutritionists who were not accessing electronic mail. Most respondents are women (92.5%), young (mean age = 31.4 ± 8.07 years; 54.2% of participants aging under 30 years), single, and with no children. More than half are Catholic (73.8%) and have less than ten years of nutritionist undergraduate completion (55.4%). The only variable that influences well-being at work is the economic variable Household Monthly Income. Those who earn less than €500.00 per month perceive themselves at a lesser state of work well-being than those who earn from €2501.00 to €5000.00 per month. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health Behaviour and Lifestyle)

17 pages, 354 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Interactive Effects of Unhealthy Lifestyle Behaviors on Testicular Function among Healthy Adult Men: A Cross-Sectional Study in Taiwan

by Adi Lukas Kurniawan, Chien-Yeh Hsu, Jane C.-J. Chao, Li-Yin Lin, Rathi Paramastri, Hsiu-An Lee, Nan-Chen Hsieh and Shu-Fang Vivienne Wu

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(9), 4925; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094925 - 5 May 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2794

Abstract

Recently, the role of lifestyle factors in testicular function has developed into a growing area of interest. Based on cross-sectional data on 3283 Taiwanese men, we investigated whether interactive effects of unhealthy lifestyle behaviors were associated with testicular function. The men were recruited from a private screening institute between 2009 and 2015. Lifestyle behaviors (smoking, alcohol drinking, physical activity (PA), sleeping habits, and diet) were obtained by a validated self-reported questionnaire. The men provided a semen sample and had blood drawn for sex hormone measurement. Men who smoked and drank had higher testosterone (T) levels (β = 0.81, p < 0.001) than those who neither smoked nor drank. Men who smoked and had high Western dietary pattern scores had higher T levels—by 0.38 ng/mL (p = 0.03). Those who drank and did not get enough sleep or had high Western dietary pattern scores had elevated T levels—by 0.60 ng/mL (p = 0.005) or 0.45 ng/mL (p = 0.02), respectively. Light PA and insomnia were associated with decreased T levels—by 0.64 ng/mL (p < 0.001). Those who smoked and drank or had light PA or had high Western dietary pattern scores had lower normal sperm morphologies (NSMs)—by 2.08%, 1.77%, and 2.29%, respectively. Moreover, drinkers who had high Western dietary pattern scores had higher sperm concentrations—by 4.63 M/mL (p = 0.04). Awareness and recognition of the long-term impact of lifestyle behaviors and better lifestyle choices may help to optimize the chance of conception amongst couples. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health Behaviour and Lifestyle)

Review

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24 pages, 856 KiB

Open AccessReview

Eating Behaviour Changes during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies

by Cristina González-Monroy, Irene Gómez-Gómez, Cristian M. Olarte-Sánchez and Emma Motrico

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(21), 11130; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111130 - 22 Oct 2021

Cited by 156 | Viewed by 9902

Abstract

Eating behaviour is a complex construct that is liable to be modified by external factors. Due to the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), many restrictive measures were carried out with the aim of reducing the impact of this disease. As a result, lifestyles were disrupted, which could affect eating behaviours. The aim of this systematic review of longitudinal studies was to assess changes in eating behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic by establishing a comparison of eating behaviours before and after the outbreak of the pandemic. This study followed the PRISMA guidelines (PROSPERO: CRD42020203246), whereas to assess the quality of the studies, the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale (NOS) was applied. Out of a set of 826 studies, 23 were included in this systematic review. The main findings provided information about a shift towards modified eating behaviours, characterized by an increased snack frequency and a preference for sweets and ultra-processed food rather than fruits, vegetables, and fresh food. Additionally, an increased alcohol consumption was found among different countries. Consequently, adherence to healthy diets decreased. These findings are relevant to future policies and strategies to assess nutrition in cases of alarming situations such as the current COVID-19 pandemic. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health Behaviour and Lifestyle)

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