Data indicate that an increase in smoking habit is still occurring among lower educated women in southern Europe, which, if not prevented, might result in even larger inequalities in smoking related cancers in the future.
In the dietary habits aspect of the EdAl-2 study, we observed that the increase in healthy lifestyle habits, such as the increase in fruit and vegetables consumption and increasing PA h/week while maintaining low TV h/day, is promising lifestyle changes that could induce a reduction of OW and OB over the long term.
Food campaigners, policy makers, journalists and academics continue to debate an alleged decline in home cooking, a corresponding increase in individualised eating habits and the impact of such trends upon public health.
Another factor is the increase in opioid prescribing habits - the access and availability of opioids just skyrocketed in that time period, leading to higher rates of opioid-related deaths.
Similar findings highlight the importance of addressing the increase in (unhealthy) dieting habits of adolescents and young women because of patriarchal beauty expectations, in countries facing a nutritional transition.
16 Presently, there is a real concern regarding the increase in unhealthy dietary habits including greater consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks by young people and the possible role of these beverages in the pathogenesis of childhood obesity.
According to recent studies, the increase of work-related stress in health care professionals leads to an increase in unhealthy coping habits, such as alcohol consumption to relax, smoking to increase the number of breaks during working-hours or using drugs for stimulation or sedation [ 33- 38].
Some of the recent bump must be attributed to the rise of e-readers, whose owners report an increase in their own reading habits thanks to the devices' conveniences.
An increase in reported condom use with regular partners was consistent with data from another survey in KwaZulu-Natal that found substantial increases in condom use amongst co-habiting and marital partnerships between 1998 and 2008 [28].
