The lifestyle concept is used in the fields of psychology and sociology to describe an individual’s choices, attitudes, and behaviours. It includes not only the physical aspects of life such as the way people eat, work and spend their time, but also the psychological, spiritual, emotional and intellectual aspects of living.
The term “lifestyle” is often associated with luxury, but it can be defined more simply as a person’s pattern of daily activities. It can be seen in the way people dress, how they spend their free time, the way they work, and even the things they own.
Psychologists and sociologists have studied the topic of lifestyle for a long time. A number of different models and theories have emerged from these studies. They can be categorised into three interpretative keys: internal, external and temporal (see Table 1).
In the first current to analyse the lifestyle concept, the internal dimension was emphasised. This approach identified the lifestyle as a personality trait, a set of values and beliefs, or a model of living. The main criticism of these conceptualisations is that they do not link the lifestyle to actions and behaviour.
Another current focuses on the external dimensions of the lifestyle. This approach takes into account the relationship between the lifestyle and social position. It is related to the concepts of Weber and Bourdieu and can be differentiated from the previous conceptualisations by its privileged reference to behaviour and daily practices.
Finally, the third approach is a combination of the other two and takes into account both the internal and the external aspects. It sees the lifestyle as a way of life that is characterised by the convergent and divergent aspects of the personality. The lifestyle is a result of the dynamic and interactive process that takes place between personality traits, beliefs, values, motivations, and goals (both intrinsic and extrinsic) of the individual.
A number of other perspectives have also been proposed, taking into account the temporal dimension of the lifestyle. For example, Georg Simmel carries out a formal analysis of the processes that generate and transform lifestyles; Pierre Bourdieu renews this concept with a more complex model of the relationship between lifestyles, habitus, and consumption.
This narrative review of the major explicit definitions in the psychology and sociology literature highlights the need to develop a more integrated and meaningful perspective on the lifestyle construct. This will allow for a better understanding of the role that the lifestyle plays in health and wellness promotion and will enable us to move away from the vision of the healthy individual as an isolated, self-sufficient, non-interactive and disengaged individual towards a more holistic view of lifestyle. In this way, the lifestyle can become a powerful tool for developing and evaluating health promotion interventions. Achieving this vision will require a critical health psychology that combines bio-psycho-social wellbeing and lifestyle dimensions. It will also require a more critical analysis of the current dominant health promotion models.