Relationship between health promoting lifestyle with psychological distress of adults: Application of the Transtheoretical Model

Promoting mental health is a global priority. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the relationship between behaviors related to healthy lifestyle with the psychological distress of adults based on stages of change construct.
This descriptive-study was conducted on 261 adults admitted to the health centers of Ahwaz, Iran. Stratified random sampling was employed. Data was collected by a questionnaire. Health promoting lifestyle was measured in five subscales (anthropometric status, food groups, dietary habits, physical activity, and substance and drug abuse). Psychological distress was measured based on the Kessler's scale. The stages of change construct also were recorded. The data were analyzed using independent t-test and one-way analysis of variance.
The findings indicated that the mean scores of psychological distress in women versus men, employed versus unemployed, those who do daily walking versus not walking individuals, salt users versus not using salt, dairy products users versus not using dairy products, daily fruit consumers versus not using daily fruit, and those who were in different stages of lifestyle was significantly higher. (P The findings indicated that there were relationship between healthy life style and psychological well-being.