A Narrative Review of the Models and Definitions of Lifestyle
A healthy lifestyle is a balance of physical, emotional and social well-being. It includes regular exercise, a nutritious diet, and good sleeping habits. A healthy lifestyle can help you feel your best, live longer and reduce the risk of serious illness.Lifestyles are complex and diverse. They reflect personal choices and include beliefs, opinions, values, attitudes, preferences and activities. They also encompass social, cultural, and environmental influences.The concept of lifestyle has been a central research topic in the fields of sociology and health psychology for some time now. It has been viewed and defined from different perspectives, with the main currents being those of Weber and Bourdieu [4,5]. The psychological perspective defines and analyses lifestyle on the level of thought or action.Despite the fact that there are various models and definitions of lifestyle, they all share certain characteristics: an internal dimension, an external dimension, and a temporal dimension. This article presents a narrative review of the main models and definitions of lifestyle in the psychological and sociological fields. It considers the internal, external and temporal dimensions of lifestyle, and proposes a new definition of the concept.In the first trend that started in the 1920s, lifestyle was a social phenomenon relating to consumption patterns and communication of one’s position in society. Its aim was to distinguish between people and groups with similar consumption habits, so that they could be identified and differentiated. This interpretation led to the identification of lifestyles as behavioural patterns that are characteristic of particular status groups.The next trend viewed lifestyle as the sum of a person’s behaviours, interests and attitudes. These were then analysed from a synchronic and diachronic point of view, to identify the factors that contribute to the evolution of a lifestyle in a given context (for example, social trends) and the factors that influence the emergence of new lifestyles in a given environment.Today, the concept of lifestyle is mainly associated with the notion of health. In the field of sociomedical science, there is a tendency to define a lifestyle as individual behavioural patterns that influence health status and can be modified by educational campaigns. This approach emphasises the pursuit of health by avoiding risk behaviours.However, there is growing recognition that a healthy lifestyle is not only related to the behavioural aspects of an individual’s everyday life but that it also involves a holistic approach to health, encompassing both physical and mental wellbeing. It is therefore essential to broaden the approach taken and go beyond the traditional focus on a limited number of unhealthy lifestyle behaviours to incorporate all aspects of an individual’s daily life, from diet to emotions. The new definition proposed here aims to do just that. This approach is based on the salutogenic model of health and is designed to provide a framework for the development of new lifestyle theories. It is not intended to replace existing models, but rather complement them. Moreover, the new concept is anchored in a holistic and ecological view of health and life.