J Korean Acad Fam Med.  2007 Nov;28(11):845-852.

Relationship between the Awareness and Health Behavior in Middle-aged Koreans

• Chung SY
• Kim KW
• Chang YR
• Kwon HT
• Kim YI
• Huh BR
• Cho B

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Despite growing awareness of health behavior, making actual behavioral change seems to be more complex. This study assessed factors influencing discrepancy between the awareness and health behavior in Korean middle-aged people.
METHODS
A random-digit-dial telephone survey of 1,047 middle-aged Koreans was carried out in 2004. Through the survey, the agreement between the level of awareness and health behavior was analyzed. And factors related to health-risk behaviors in the group of appropriate awareness were analyzed.
RESULTS
In the group of appropriate awareness, males tended to be smokers, problem-drinkers and were not maintaining normal weight. In men, younger age, longer work-hours and more frequent stress were significantly related to both smoking and problem-drinking despite appropriate awareness. Higher income and blue-color working class were also predictors for the problem- drinking. In women, older age, lower education, lower income and comorbid disease were significantly related to abnormal weight. Physical inactivity was significantly related to lower education, longer working hours and lower income.
CONCLUSION
This study showed that sociodemographic factors and stress were related with health-risk behavior with appropriate awareness in middle-aged people. These findings are expected to have implications for development of health promotion program focusing on stress management, improvement of sociocultural perception and simultaneous intervention for both smoking and alcohol. For middle-aged Korean women, more efforts must be made to remove economical and sociocultural barriers.

Keyword

awareness; health behavior; middle age; smoking; problem drinking

MeSH Terms

Drinking
Education
Female
Health Behavior*
Health Promotion
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Smoke
Smoking
Telephone
Smoke