Relationships and Health Habits

A Little Bit More About Our Study

We are looking at how our social lives shape our health behavior, for better or worse. Why do we start or stop smoking? Why do we sometimes eat lots of fruits and vegetables while other times eat a lot of fast food? Our analysis of national data tells us a lot about patterns of change in health habits but we want to learn more about why health habits change over time. To do this, we need YOUR help and expertise!

More specifically, we want to look at how and why health habits change as we age. We also want to consider how stress and different types of relationships influence our health habits.

What are Health Habits?

You are probably already very knowledgeable about things you do that can be good and bad for your health. Health habits include a wide variety of lifestyle choices that affect the way you think and feel about yourself and your body. These can include the amount of sleep you get in a night, how much you exercise, the kinds of foods you eat, how much alcohol you drink, and whether or not your smoke.

Many aspects of our social lives can influence our health habits - for better and for worse. For example, some people eat or drink more when they are feeling a lot of stress while others are more likely to exercise in response to stress. Sometimes other people are a good influence on our health habits and sometimes other people may influence us in ways that lead us to eat or drink more than we think we should. Our interviews will focus on how your health habits have changed over time and how your social life may have influenced those habits.