IJPDS International Journal of Population Data Science

Chronic diseases linked to lifestyle such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, are leading causes of death and disability. Yet many of these conditions are preventable through everyday choices. What if a single score could reveal how healthy your lifestyle is and help public health leaders identify who needs support the most?

A new study, published in the International Journal of Population Data Science (IJPDS), has developed the Healthy Lifestyle Composite Index (HLCI), the first national tool in Italy that measures healthy behaviours using large-scale official data. Drawing on responses from over 32,000 adults in a national survey carried out by the Italian National Institute of Statistics, the Index brings together four major lifestyle factors: diet, physical activity, alcohol use, and smoking. Each has a measurable impact on longevity and quality of life, making this index a powerful way to understand the state of public health today and how it may change in the future.

What the Index Shows

The HLCI assigns each person a score from 0 to 100 – the higher the score, the healthier the lifestyle. The average score among Italian adults was 61.8, pointing to moderately healthy habits overall. However, the study also found important disparities. Women scored significantly higher than men, driven mainly by lower smoking and alcohol consumption. Lifestyle quality followed a U-shaped pattern across age groups: young adults and older adults tended to have healthier habits than middle-aged individuals.

Education also played a major role. People with university degrees had the highest lifestyle scores, particularly due to greater engagement in physical activity. Meanwhile, geographic differences revealed that residents of northern regions generally live healthier lifestyles than those in the South and Islands. The lowest scores were associated with smoking and poor diet, making them key targets for future prevention campaigns.

As the HLCI, based on institutional survey data, is collected every year, it can be used to continuously monitor population health and evaluate whether public health interventions are working.

How the Index Was Built
The index combines expert medical judgment and a structured scoring system. Each lifestyle component was weighted according to its importance for a healthy life, with tobacco use given the highest weight. Instead of simply counting healthy behaviours, the index evaluates them on a gradated scale that captures differences in intensity and frequency. This approach provides a more nuanced and realistic picture of daily habits.

Looking Ahead
The HLCI offers a valuable tool for designing targeted health promotion strategies. It can help identify groups at greater risk and highlight which behaviours are most in need of improvement. For example, the low scores in diet and physical activity suggest that these areas deserve increased public attention. The index also enables ongoing tracking, allowing researchers and policymakers to observe trends and anticipate emerging public health challenges.

Lead author Manuela Scioni said, “As lifestyles continue to evolve, this index provides a clear and evidence-based way to measure progress toward healthier living. Ultimately, it gives policymakers, health professionals, and the public a shared language for understanding how everyday habits affect wellbeing, and where changes can make the greatest difference.”

 

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Assistant Professor Manuela Scioni, Alessia Girardo, Student, Chiara Baldan, Student, and Professor Giovanna Boccuzzo, Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Padua

Scioni, M., Baldan, C., Ghirardo, A. and Boccuzzo, G. (2025) “Construction of a healthy lifestyle index using Italian National survey data”, International Journal of Population Data Science, 10(3). doi: 10.23889/ijpds.v10i3.2977.