Association of health-promoting lifestyle and related factors among female high school students in Iran public high school

BACKGROUND: Health promotion is the most important strategy to encourage people to live a healthy lifestyle and prevent non-communicable diseases. It is important to note that no study has been conducted comparing students’ health-promoting behavior (HPBs) in different types of schools in Iran. This study aimed to investigate and compare the associated factors of female students in these schools. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in 2023 Ardabil, Iran. The questionnaire used in this study consisted of two parts: the first included sociodemographic information and body mass index measurement and the second consisted of questions from the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II. In addition, SPSS Ver. 22 was applied to statistical analysis. RESULTS: The highest and lowest scores of HPB were calculated for schools in the central city, elite, and outskirts. Although these behaviors were evaluated as good (154.59 ± 22.65) in all the studied students, in total 76% of the students are far from excellent level. Family support ( P < 0.001) and parental education ( P < 0.05) are identified as the most important factors in improving children’s behaviors and benefiting society. CONCLUSIONS: Considering that, students’ adherence to HPB plays a significant role in health and disease prevention development in society and is one of the determinants of health and a healthy lifestyle, should provide health educational strategy, educational infrastructure, and plan behavior modification techniques in this field.