Healthy behavior: A goal to be accomplished by Brazilian young people

Objectives: Health risk behaviors generally initiate in adolescence and early adulthood. Knowledge of factors associated with healthy behaviors among younger adults may contribute to prevent chronic diseases in late adulthood, such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer. This work estimates the prevalence and factors associated with health related behaviors among younger adults. Methods:  Analysis was performed in a representative sample of 14,268 individuals aged 18-29 years participants of a telephone survey carried out in all 27 Brazilian Capitals. Healthy behavior was defined by the presence of three conditions: not smoking, be physically active and eat fresh fruits and vegetables ³ 5 days per week. Poisson regression was used to estimate prevalence ratios. Results: 51% (95%CI:49-53) were women and 49% (95%CI:47-519) men. Only 8,1% were classified as healthy; 39.6% reported at least two risk behaviors, 45.4% at least one and 7.00% none of the three healthy behaviors considered. In the multivariate analysis, being healthy was more frequent among persons aged 25-29 years, who defined their skin color as white, with more years of schooling (9-11 and  12+ years), who rated their health as good/very good and who lived next to a place adequate to practice sport. Negative associations were found with drinking full cream milk and eating fat meat and/or chicken, Conclusion: The worse self rated health of those not classified as healthy suggest that such behaviors influence health perception but this influence seem not enough to change attitudes towards them. Association with schooling, white skin color and neighborhood facilities indicate that social inequities may limit access to more healthy behaviors.