Multiple health behaviours: overview and implications

Abstract

We conclude that both population and high-risk strategies for health behaviour intervention are warranted, potentially synergistic and need intervention design that accounts for substitute and complementary relationships among bundled health behaviours. To maximize positive public health impact, a pressing need exists for bodies of basic and translational science that explain health behaviour bundling. Also needed is applied science that elucidates the following: (1) the optimal number of behaviours to intervene upon; (2) how target behaviours are best selected (e.g. greatest health impact; patient preference or positive effect on bundled behaviours); (3) whether to increase healthy or decrease unhealthy behaviours; (4) whether to intervene on health behaviours simultaneously or sequentially and (5) how to achieve positive synergies across individual-, group- and population-level intervention approaches.

Multiple risk behaviors for non-communicable diseases and associated factors in adolescents

“…Spring et al 4 reported that risk behaviors are more prevalent in the least favored population segments, resulting from the effects of common social determinants, including a long history of poverty and adverse environments associated with multiple unhealthy behaviors. Accordingly, the WHO 32 states that greater disease burden (e.g., infectious diseases), more lesions, and higher mortality per liter of alcohol consumed occur among individuals with lower socioeconomic status.…”

“…The study risk behaviors -physical inactivity, tobacco smoking, experimentation of alcoholic beverages, and inadequate dietary habits -typify an unhealthy lifestyle, compromise quality of life, and predispose to the development of NCD 4,18 , and have been evaluated in various similar studies 2,[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] . However, comparison between studies that have evaluated the simultaneous occurrence of risk behaviors is complicated by the diversity of behaviors analyzed by the studies.…”

“…Risk behaviors may be defined as those that directly or indirectly affect the health, wellness, and healthy development of an individual 3 or even as attitudes that increase the Revista de Nutrição http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1678-98652016000200004 risk of developing or worsening diseases 4 . The occurrence of these behaviors in adolescence, both in Brazil [5][6][7][8][9] and in other countries 2,[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] , has been associated with an increased risk of developing NCD in adulthood 18 .…”

“…The occurrence of these behaviors in adolescence, both in Brazil [5][6][7][8][9] and in other countries 2,[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] , has been associated with an increased risk of developing NCD in adulthood 18 . Furthermore, the simultaneous occurrence of multiple risk behaviors is common in adolescents 4,6 , which may potentiate the risk for those diseases in adulthood.…”

A telephone-based intervention to promote physical activity during smoking cessation: a randomized controlled proof-of-concept study

“…Moreover, we are not aware of any studies that have targeted low-income, underserved smokers known to have greater challenges with health behavior adoption. Given that supervised vigorous physical activity programs lack external validity in low-income smokers [23], there is potential utility in strategies that integrate more realistic physical activity programming (low-to-moderate intensities) within the context of smoking treatment. Such strategies may be more acceptable for this population [24], thereby also reducing attrition [25].…”