Factors Associated with Healthy Behavior for Preventing Non-Communicable Diseases

The increasing burden of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in both low- and high-income ASEAN countries highlights an urgent need for effective management and prevention strategies. These strategies are critical for reducing premature deaths, alleviating the healthcare costs, and saving lives. Unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, such as poor dietary habits, lack of physical activity, alcohol consumption, and inadequate sleep, significantly elevate the risk of metabolic syndrome and other NCDs.

Mapping the literature on factors related to healthy behaviors for preventing and managing NCDs among college students in ASEAN countries.

A Scoping Review with a PCC (Population-Concept-Context) framework and was referred to the Scoping Review Framework by Arksey and O'Malley. This article reviewed both qualitative and quantitative studies, restricted to full-text articles in English and Indonesian published from 2020 to 2024, focused on University Students, Healthy Behaviour, conducted in ASEAN countries.

Of the 1166 articles, 7 studies, involving 71,923 participants, met the criteria. The findings indicate that internal (eg, dietary habits, sleep quality, and mental well-being) and external factors, (eg, student knowledge and perception, and the Health University Framework (HUF)) are significantly associated with health behaviors among university students. Several studies also demonstrate a relationship between healthy behavior and students' psychological conditions and susceptibility to cardiovascular disease.

This review found that internal factors, such as dietary habits, sleep quality, BMI, along with external factors, including HUF Implementation and students' knowledge and perceptions, significantly influence healthy behaviors among university students in ASEAN. These factors related with psychological well-being and cardiovascular disease risk. Therefore, effective interventions and implementation of the holistic AUN-HPN HUF framework in universities are essential for preventing and managing NCDs among young adults.