Does Improvement in Health-Related Lifestyle Habits Increase Purpose in Life among a Health Literate Cohort?

Shunsuke Kinoshita, Nobutaka Hirooka, Takeru Kusano, Kohei Saito and Hidetomo Nakamoto
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Shunsuke Kinoshita: Department of General Internal Medicine, Saitama Medical University, Saitama 350-0495, Japan
Nobutaka Hirooka: Department of General Internal Medicine, Saitama Medical University, Saitama 350-0495, Japan
Takeru Kusano: Department of General Internal Medicine, Saitama Medical University, Saitama 350-0495, Japan
Kohei Saito: Department of General Internal Medicine, Saitama Medical University, Saitama 350-0495, Japan
Hidetomo Nakamoto: Department of General Internal Medicine, Saitama Medical University, Saitama 350-0495, Japan

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 23, 1-10

Abstract: A growing number of studies have revealed the association between health-related lifestyle habits and purpose in life. However, the mechanism linking the two has not been adequately understood. This study aims to examine the effect of changes in health-related lifestyle habits on purpose in life. A retrospective cohort study was conducted on certified professional specialists of health management. We analyzed the cohort’s demographic information, health-related lifestyle behaviors, reported changes in health-related lifestyle habits (exercise, diet, sleep, and other habits), and purpose in life using a validated tool (Ikigai-9). The cohort was divided into four groups based on the number of reported changes in health-related lifestyles. The purpose in life score was compared among the four groups with and without adjusting for lifestyle. In total, there were 4820 participants. The means (and SD) of the Ikigai-9 score for groups 1, 2, 3, and 4 were 31.4 (6.6), 32.2 (5.6), 32.8 (5.8), and 34.9 (5.4), respectively. There was a statistically significant difference in the Ikigai-9 score among the groups. Healthier changes in lifestyle habits increased perceptions of purpose in life. Both purpose in life and health-related lifestyle habits might be the target factors for disease prevention and health promotion.

Keywords: purpose in life; health-related lifestyle; health promotion; disease prevention; healthy behavior (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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