Clustering of (un)healthy behaviours in older Canadians

The behaviours of everyday life (health, family, community, work) are not carried out in isolation from each other. Our behaviours impact on the other behaviours that we do. For some people, the more physical activity they engage in, the less alcohol they drink and less they smoke. This goes beyond lifestyle: raising children is linked to healthy eating, but work is linked to unhealthy eating. Guidelines and support for healthy aging are out of step with this reality, instead focusing on individual health behaviours isolated from the other behaviours that characterize daily life. We will use CLSA data to determine whether Canadians can be grouped in terms of the different patterns of health, family, community, or work behaviours that they do. We will then investigate whether social or demographic features are associated with these patterns of multiple behaviours, and whether there are differences in health and life satisfaction across these patterns of behaviour.