Expressed interest in health-related lifestyle change in three communities

Little is known about the public's motivation to change lifestyles in a healthy direction. This study reports results from surveys conducted in three divergent New Zealand communities, two urban and one rural (total n = 467), and shows a striking degree of interest in changing lifestyles, and a uniformity of preferences. Two-thirds or more of all adults interviewed expressed interest in changing their lifestyles, and three lifestyle areas consistently emerged as being of top priority: fitness, losing weight and stress-management. When a Maori subsample is examined, an even higher degree of interest was found than that for Europeans. The implications of these findings for the planning of health promotion activities are discussed.