Abstract
Objective The purpose of this study was to assess relationships between life satisfaction and lifestyle in residents of the city of Kyoto, Japan, by addressing their subjective evaluation of their own health status.
Methods The subjects comprised 4,746 men and women (15-97 years old) who had completed a questionnaire on life style in the 1998 Kyoto Citizen's Health and Nutrition Study. Stratified by their responses to subjective health, the relationship between life-satisfaction and lifestyle was evaluated by odds ratios and chi-square tests of the subjects classified by age and gender.
Results The proportion of respondents who felt their subjective health was good decreased with age, while the proportion of respondents who considered their life satisfaction good increased with age. Whether the residents had good or poor subjective health, the proportion of respondents who had a healthy lifestyle, as exemplified by having breakfast everyday, having dinner with their family regularly and having a good intake of greeny-ellow vegetables increased with age in both men and women. This healthy lifestyle was also positively associated with good life satisfaction.
Conclusion Whether the residents had good or poor subjective health, these results suggest that those with a healthy lifestyle feel good life satisfaction.
