Dr Hidayathulla Shaikh, Lecturer, College of Dentistry, Majmaah University.

 To understand what is life style  To know conducive life styles for health  To know what are life style interventions  To understand the ethical issues in life style interventions.

 “Life style is a way of living based on identifiable patterns of behavior, which are determined by the interplay between an individuals personal characteristics, social interactions and socioeconomic and environmental living conditions”.

 The pattern of behavior are continually interpreted and tested out in different social situations and thus are not fixed and subjected to change.  They are learnt through social interaction with parents, peer groups, friends or through the influence of school, mass media etc.  They are subjected to change based on experience and reinterpretation.

 Individual lifestyles can have a profound effect on individuals health and also the health of others.  If health is to be improved by changing the individuals lifestyle,  Then actions must be taken not only at the individual but also his social and living conditions which changes his behavior.

 So it is important to advice optimal life styles for all people.  The culture, home, age, physical ability, work environment will make living conditions more attractive, feasible and appropriate.

 Lifestyle interventions must be based on co operation and full participation of the individuals and groups concerned.  This demands knowledge and skill, if a wider social change is to be brought about. Steps must be taken to train people to take responsibility.  The work place is one of the area which is most affected by social factors which have health and risk benefits and hence the favorable site for prevention intervention.

 Those aspects of working life which have bad effects on health should be eliminated and factors which have good effect on health should be encouraged.  The people must be informed of merits and demerits of various options open to them and resources should be made available to them.  This requires knowledge, skills, new educational materials and methods.

1) Privacy  Life style interventions in private world of the individual may itself be detrimental to health.  So it is very important to take his consent and make him fully involved in taking decisions.  Impositions must be avoided and individuals should choose strategies based on knowledge and information.

2) Anxiety  If you raise the conscious level of the individual it may also raise the anxiety level in that individual.  This is because people may discover that their behavior has bad effect on their health. And because of this anxiety it may damage the health of the individual.  So your health intervention strategies should be easy to follow and acceptable for the people.

3) Confidentiality  When data on lifestyles are acquired people must feel confident that their private lives will not be further exposed or misused.

4) Choices  The essence of health promotion is choice.  People should be free to accept or refuse your health intervention strategies.  At the same time you should motivate them to accept, assume and follow their responsibilities by themselves and towards each other.