Lifestyle

The lifestyle is a sociological concept that refers to how the interests, opinions, and behaviors of an individual, group, or culture are oriented. Although its origins go back to the time of Aristotle, the expression is considered to have been introduced by the Austro-Hungarian psychologist Alfred Adler in the 1910s, who defined it as "the system of rules of conduct developed by individuals to achieve their goals in life". Later, the concept was taking the broader sense of "way or style of living".

It is a combination of tangible determinants ─related specifically to demographic variables for example of an individual─ and intangible, psychological aspects of an individual such as their personal values, preferences and points of view. A rural environment has different lifestyles, compared to that of a metropolis; the location differs even within an urban environment: the nature of the neighborhood where a person lives affects the set of lifestyles that he has, due to the different degrees of influx and proximity to natural and cultural environments. For example, in areas near the sea, a surf-related culture or lifestyle may be present.

The lifestyle does not refer so much to the sense of a particular worldview nor does it encompass the totality of the ideology of a subject ─although sometimes that is the meaning that is given to the expression (when it is extended to the totality of culture and art)─, but it is related to their identity, idiosyncrasy and character —national, regional, generational, class, subcultural, etc.— and their behaviors, environments and habits, such as their work, leisure, sex, food, clothing, etc. Having a specific lifestyle implies a conscious or unconscious choice between a system of behaviors and others.

History of lifestyle studies

The concept was taking hold around 1928. Previous generations may not have needed it because it was not significant for societies of other times, relatively more homogeneous. Alvin Toffler predicted an explosion of lifestyles (called 'subcultures') due to the increasing diversity of post-industrial societies. Jeremy Rifkin describes the lifestyle and daily life in Europe and the United States; in historical times, in the present and in the arrival of the global era, after individualism and communitarianism. Pierre Bourdieu centers his theory on the concept of habitus understood as schemes of acting, thinking and feeling associated with social position. The habitus makes people from a homogeneous social environment tend to share similar lifestyles.

The concept of lifestyle management has grown a lot in the last decade due to the focus on the way we live.

Health

Fast food, an example (sociological) of lifestyle based on American way of life and widespread with globalization.

In epidemiology, the lifestyle, habit of life or way of life is a set of behaviors or attitudes that people develop, which are sometimes healthy and other times harmful to health. In developed countries, unhealthy lifestyles cause numerous diseases. Within the epidemiological triangle that causes disease, it would be included within the host factor. Among the relevant factors are:

• Consumption of toxic substances: tobacco, alcohol and other drugs.
• Physical exercise.
• Night dream.
• Vehicle driving.
• Stress.
• Diet (feeding).
• Personal hygiene.
• Food handling.
• Leisure activities or hobbies.
• Interpersonal relationships
• Environment.
• Sexual behavior.

In developed countries there is the paradox that most diseases are caused by the lifestyles of their population, and yet health resources are diverted towards the social system itself (Health care systems) to try to cure these diseases, instead of allocating more financial resources to health promotion and disease prevention.

American Lifestyles

That would be the meaning of the English expressions lifestyle and way of life, which have become very popular, especially the concept American way of life or American lifestyle (referring to the American), broadly equivalent to the way of understanding in the United States the democratic system, the consumer society and the market economy that tend to become universal with globalization.