Determining the Cut Off Score of the Healthy Lifestyle Screening Tool among High School Students

BACKGROUND: Several lifestyle factors such as not smoking, drinking alcohol in moderation, eating healthily, regular exercise, and maintaining a normal weight have been known to play an important role in optimal health. A screening tool that has a standardized score that indicates healthy or risky lifestyle behaviors is needed for health promotion. However, such a tool that focuses on lifestyle behaviors have not incorporated scores to summarize the results. The purpose of this study is to develop the cut-off points of the Healthy Lifestyle Screening tool. METHODS: Data collection in this study was done from 198 Filipino high school students utilizing the Healthy Lifestyle Screening Tool. RESULTS: Receiver Operating Curve (ROC) results indicated cut-off score of 98 to separate into low and high score groups. The mean scores for all subcomponents were significantly different in between two groups. The general population fell in the high score category with a mean total score of 105.61 in which 81.31% were categorized in the high score group and 18.61% in the low score group. Subjects in general obtained low mean scores in specific subscale components such as rest (2.46) water (2.66) and exercise (2.78). CONCLUSION: Increasing the total score by working on low scoring components will be beneficial in achieving a healthy lifestyle. This study reinforced the importance of holistic approach regarding health and well-being among high school students.