Optimising lifestyle interventions: identification of health behaviour patterns by cluster analysis in a German 50+ survey
European Journal of Public Health Volume 19, Number 3 Pp. 271-277

Five homogeneous health behaviour clusters were identified: ‘No Risk Behaviours’ (25.3%), ‘Physically Inactives’ (21.1%), ‘Fruit and Vegetable Avoiders’ (18.2%), ‘Smokers with Risk Behaviours’ (12.7%) and ‘Drinkers with Risk Behaviours’ (22.7%). Whereas the first cluster is the ideal in terms of risk and prevention, the latter two groups include regular users of tobacco and excessive consumers of alcohol, who also engage in other risk behaviours like inactivity and maintaining an unhealthy diet. These two risk groups also exhibit specific sociodemographic attributes (male, living alone, social class affiliation)

Unhealthy behaviours evidently occur in typical combinations. An awareness of this clustering enables prevention and intervention measures to be planned so that multiple behaviours can be modified simultaneously.

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