what Impact of Lifestyle on Health

Lifestyle is a way used by people, groups and nations and is formed in specific geographical, economic, political, cultural and religious text.

In recent decades, lifestyle as an important factor of health is more interested in researchers. According to WHO, 60% of related factors to individual health and quality of life are correlated to lifestyle (1).

Today, wide changes have occurred in life of all people. For instance, emerging new technologies within IT, such as the internet and virtual communication networks, lead our world to a major challenge that threatens the physical and mental health of individuals.

Therefore, according to the existing studies, it can be said that: lifestyle has a significant influence on physical and mental health of human being. Consanguinity in some ethnicity is a dominant form of lifestyle that it leads to the genetic disorders. Reformation of this unhealthy lifestyle is a preventing factor for decreasing the rate of genetic diseases (2). In some countries, the overuse of drugs is a major unhealthy lifestyle. Furthermore, in 15–40% of cases, they use medications about without prescription (3). Pain relievers, eye drops and antibiotics have the most usage in Iran.

Finally, variables of lifestyle that influence on health can be categorized in some items:

Diet and Body Mass Index (BMI): Diet is the greatest factor in lifestyle and has a direct and positive relation with health. Poor diet and its consequences on obesity is the common healthy problem in urban societies. Urban lifestyle leads to the nutrition problems like using fast foods and poor foods, increasing problems like cardiovascular (5).
Exercise: For treating general health problems, the exercise is included in lifestyle (6). The continuous exercise along with a healthy diet increases the health. Some studies stress on the relation of active lifestyle with happiness (7, 8).
Sleep: One of the bases of healthy life is the sleep. Sleep cannot be apart from life. Sleep disorders have several social, psychological, economical and healthy consequences. Lifestyle may affect on sleep, and sleep has a clear influence on mental and physical health (9).
Substance impact: Addiction is considered as an unhealthy lifestyle. Smoking and using other substance may result in various problems; cardiovascular disease, asthma, cancer, brain injury. According to the resent studies in Iran, 43% of females and 64% of males experience the use of bubble (10). A longitudinal study shows that 30% of people between 18–65 years old smoke cigarette permanently (11).
Medication impact: It is a common form of using medication in Iran, and it is considered as an unhealthy lifestyle. Unhealthy behaviors in using medication are as followed: self-treatment, sharing medication, using medications without prescription, prescribing too many drugs, prescribing the large number of each drug, unnecessary drugs, bad handwriting in prescription, disregard to the contradictory drugs, disregard to harmful effects of drugs, not explaining the effects of drugs.
Application of modern technologies: Advanced technology facilitates the life of human beings. For example, using of computer and other devices up to midnight, may affect on the pattern of sleep, and it may disturb sleep. Addiction to use mobile phone is related to depression symptoms (12).
Recreation: Leisure pass time is a sub factor of lifestyle. With disorganized planning and unhealthy leisure, people endanger their health.
Study: Study is the exercise of the soul. Placing study as a factor in lifestyle may lead to more physical and mental health. For example, prevalence of dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease, is lower in educated people. Study could slow the process of dementia.

Conclusion

With a look at existing studies in health domain, 9 key factors can be suggested for healthy lifestyle. In regard to each factor, the systematic planning in micro and macro level can be established. It can provide a social and individual healthy lifestyle.