Importance of Understanding Behavioral Change

Behavioral Change
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Behavioral Change
Behavioral changes are efforts put in place to modify personal habits and improve health outcomes. These changes are necessary if individuals practice risky behaviors like tobacco use, excessive alcohol consumption, unhealthy diet, poor sleep, physical inactivity, medication non-adherence, sexual risk-taking, and similar activities (Michie et al., 2016). These practices are prevalent, can cause various diseases, and diminish life quality. Interventions to change behavior can alter current patterns of diseases and improve health outcomes. Examples include smoking cessation, regular physical exercise, eating a healthy diet, reducing alcohol intake, and practicing safe sex (Araújo-Soares et al., 2018). Therefore, understanding behavior change is important because it helps individuals engage in healthy practices that improve their health and well-being.
Studies have shown that behavior change is one of the approaches recommended by physicians to prevent or manage diseases. These behaviors can help prevent or manage some kinds of cancer, diabetes, heart diseases, obesity, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), high blood pressure, and Sexually Transmitted Infections (Hooker et al., 2018). These conditions can subsequently lead to disability, death, or social problems. So, understanding behavioral changes can eliminate risky behaviors through physical exercise, preventive nutrition, weight control, dental hygiene, and healthy sexual practices to prevent or manage conditions associated with them (Araújo-Soares et al., 2018). As a result, it reduces the rates of mortality, social problems, and disability.
Simply put, understanding behavioral changes helps people to stay healthy by reducing the causes of morbidity and mortality. It also increases the lifespan of individuals by contributing to the success of health-enhancing behaviors. Therefore, behavioral change is a topic that should be taught to every person due to its positive impact on health and well-being.
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