Healthy living does not reduce life satisfaction among physically handicapped persons.

Patient Educ Couns · 2004

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Abstract

Smoking, drinking, over-eating and sedentary living may be regarded as ways of compensating for losses inflicted by physical handicaps. Therefore, promoting healthy life-styles among physically handicapped persons may amount to reducing their life satisfaction. This article examines the life-style and life satisfaction of all self-reported somatically handicapped respondents 25-50 years of age in a mid-Norwegian county. Persons with physical handicaps had more unhealthy habits than the general population. But life-style was not related to degree of physical handicap. And quality of life among the physically handicapped was not associated with life-style. Efforts to promote healthy living may not threaten the quality of life of physically handicapped persons.