Income and healthy lifestyle behaviors among older Filipinos
Date
2026-06-05
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Abstract
"This study investigates whether income influences healthy lifestyle behav iors among older Filipinos and examines whether income-based interventions can promote healthy aging. Grounded in the Grossman Model of Health Capital (Grossman, 1972), the study conceptualizes healthy lifestyle behaviors as observable investments in health capital and argues that both economic resources and health production efficiency shape healthy lifestyle adoption. Using 2018 baseline data from the Longitudinal Study of Ageing and Health in the Philippines (LSAHP), the study employs Ordinary Least Squares regression models with interaction terms to estimate the effects of income and educational attainment on a composite Healthy Lifestyle Index (HLI). Results show that income has a positive but diminishing effect on healthy lifestyle behavior, while educational attainment emerges as a substantially stronger predictor than
income, with a base coefficient of 0.336 compared to 0.103 for income. The findings further indicate that the effect of income varies across educational attainment levels and that healthy lifestyle behavior is primarily influenced through social participation, sleep, and alcohol-related behaviors rather than uniformly across all lifestyle dimensions. Overall, the results suggest that while income support can contribute to healthier lifestyles among economically vulnerable older adults, effective healthy aging policies should also strengthen health literacy, healthcare access, and opportunities for social participation."
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Keywords
Income, Aging and Health, Educational Attainment, Health Behaviors, Health Investment