Happiness and health behaviors in South Korean adolescents: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES We examined the associations between happiness and a wide range of health behaviors in South Korean adolescents. METHODS Study data were derived from the ninth Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey administered from June to July 2013. In addition to happiness levels, the questionnaire included items on sociodemographics and health-related lifestyle factors (smoking, drinking, eating breakfast, fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity, sedentary behavior, and hours of sleep). RESULTS The multivariate analysis revealed that higher levels of happiness were associated with not smoking or drinking, eating breakfast, eating fruits daily, vegetable consumption, participating in at least 60 minutes of physical activity a day, avoiding sedentary behavior, and hours of sleep. Additionally, sex differences were found in relationships between happiness and eating fruit daily, participation in physical activity, and sedentary behavior. CONCLUSIONS These results encourage public health professionals to consider the psychological aspects of adolescent life in working to improve their health behaviors and outcomes.