Association between healthy lifestyle practices and life purpose among a highly health-literate cohort: a cross-sectional study

Background: The national health promotion program in 21st century in Japan (HJ21) correlates life purpose with disease prevention; facilitating the adoption of healthy lifestyles. However, the influence of clustered healthy lifestyle practices on life purpose, in the context of a national health campaign, remains uninvestigated. Hence, this study assessed the association between such practices and life purpose in line with the HJ21. Methods A nationwide cross-sectional survey was given to certified specialists in health management. Participants’ demographic information, lifestyle, and purpose in life using a validated tool were measured. The cohort was median-split into two groups based on their clustered health-related lifestyle score. Health-related lifestyle and purpose were compared between the two groups, and the correlation between health-related lifestyles and purpose in life was measured. Results Data from 4,820 participants were analyzed. The higher scoring health-related lifestyle group showed a significantly higher life purpose than the lower group (35.3 vs 31.4; t  = 23.6, p  < 0.001). The association between the scores of clustered healthy lifestyle practices and life purpose was significant ( r  = 0.401, p  < 0.001). The better health-related lifestyle group achieved a higher life purpose than the lower group. This association between healthy lifestyle practices and life purpose denotes a positive and linear relationship. Conclusions The present study suggest that individuals who have a better health-related lifestyle gain a higher sense of life purpose. Healthy lifestyle predicted purpose in life. Examining causal relation between healthy lifestyle and purpose in life may provide more efficient approach for health promotion.