Knowledge of healthy lifestyle in Iran: a systematic review

Abstract

IntroductionLifestyle is a set of goals, plans, values, attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs manifested in the personal and family life of the individual and in her or his social interactions. It is an interdisciplinary concept that involves a health-oriented view of the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual domains of life. Despite their great importance, there is not much knowledge in Iran about healthy lifestyles. The present study is an attempt to address the knowledge of healthy lifestyle in Iran through a review of the literature on the subject.MethodsThe present systematic review searched Elsevier, SID, Pub Med, Magiran, IranMedex, and Google Scholar databases for relevant articles published between 2000 and 2014. We used various keywords for the searches, including knowledge, lifestyle, health, and Iran. As a result, 62 articles were included in the study.ResultsThere has been a dramatic increase in the publication of articles on lifestyle in Iran over the past 10 years. The results obtained showed that 64% of the articles addressed physical health, 14% addressed psychological health, 10% addressed social health, and 12% addressed spiritual health. Most lifestyle studies conducted in Iran have focused on physical health, and a few have examined the psychological, social, and spiritual aspects of lifestyle. None of the studies has examined the knowledge map of healthy lifestyles in Iran.ConclusionGiven the changes in the causes of mortality from infectious and chronic diseases that impose greater medication and treatment costs on the society, and since diseases caused by unhealthy lifestyles have become the leading cause of death, it is essential for health researchers to focus on the root cause of these diseases, i.e., lifestyle and human behaviors.

The Lived Experience of Nurses on the Role of Continuing Education Programs in Promoting Their Knowledge, Skills, and Attitude Toward Non-Communicable Diseases

“…For instance, cardiovascular and chronic lung diseases, stroke, and type 2 diabetes are among the top 6 leading causes of death in the Eastern Mediterranean region and Iran. The prevalence of these diseases in Iran is exacerbated by urbanization, changesin lifestyle due to industrialization, changes in age composition, and population ageing [10][11] [12].…”

Development and psychometric evaluation of the healthy lifestyle questionnaire for elderly (heal)

“…However, though lifestyle is formed by personal choices and identities, it cannot be analyzed in isolation of its social and cultural contexts. It means the personal, biological and psychological characteristics of the individual, family, friends, and social community affect the individual’s daily life and lifestyle [ 9 ].…”

“…Assessment of the lifestyle of older people requires accurate tools for measuring health-related behaviors. Although there are numerous instruments for the measurement of lifestyle in Western communities, differences in social and cultural contexts, especially the ethnic backgrounds [ 9 ] and educational levels of older adults [ 10 ], might cause some limitations to their use in other communities such as Iran, where more than two-thirds of the elderly people are either illiterate or less educated [ 11 ]. Additionally some existing instruments only measure special lifestyle aspects for example, stress management, nutrition or exercise and do not have comprehensive approach to measuring healthy lifestyles.…”

The role of islamic lifestyle and healthy nutrition in accordance with the recommendations of islam and the holly quran by focusing on the risk of cancer incident

“…A look at Iranian past and present lifestyles reveals dramatically changes in eating habits and life style factors that not only lead to many chronic diseases and cancers, but also make the body susceptible to other diseases [18,19]. High-fat, high-calorie and high-protein intake, low fruit consumption, low consumption of cooked vegetables, long-term cooking of foods and loss of minerals and vitamins in foods, long-term storage of vegetables in the freezer, use of smoked and grilled foods, increased consumption of canned foods and repeated use of oils, over-consumption of red meat, over-use of fried foods, consumption of hot tea and other nutritional habits of Iranians lead to the increase of gastrointestinal cancers in recent years.…”