Examination of Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors of 60+ Refreshment University Students: The Case of Muğla Refreshment University and Its Campuses

Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the sociodemographic characteristics and healthy lifestyle behaviors of individuals studying at Muğla Refreshment University and its affiliated campuses in Köyceğiz, Milas and Marmaris. Subjects and Methods: Quota sampling technique, which is a non-probability sampling method, was used to determine the sample of the study. Half of the number of people actively attending the course in each campus was determined as a quota and 130 people constituted the sample. Correlational survey model was used in the study. To collect the data, questions about the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants and some issues related to their health and the Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors-II (HLSB-II) scale were applied. Results: It was observed that 93 (71.5%) of the participants were female and 37 (28.5%) were male. The average age of the participants was 66 (minimum-maximum= 60-79). The mean score of the participants from the Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors-II (HLSB-II) scale was 140.45. Among the demographic variables, gender was found to have a significant difference on health responsibility (p:0.042) and income on stress management (p:0.018). Medicine use was found to have a significant difference on spiritual development (p:0.033), smoking on nutrition (p:0.039), and alcohol use on physical activity, nutrition and healthy lifestyle behaviors total score (p:0.047; p:0.002; p:0.033, respectively). Conclusion: In the research, no significant effect of age, education level, marital status, living situation, social security, or chronic disease on healthy lifestyle behaviors was found. The mean total score of the participants' SDL-II is at “moderate” level and it can be said that they generally show healthy lifestyle behaviors. It can be said that the healthy lifestyle behaviors of the students at Refreshment University who participated in the study play an important role in maintaining and promoting health.