Lifestyle and mental health

To examine the relationship between healthy lifestyles and self-rated mental health. A cross-section telephone survey involving multiple callbacks. Using a Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey, information about lifestyle, demographic characteristics, and self-rated mental health was collected. Amarillo, Texas, a city of approximately 170,000 in the Panhandle of Texas. Six hundred and twenty-one adults. Good mental health was independently associated with physical activity, being male, and being married. Poor mental health was associated with obesity, daily smoking, being Hispanic, and being non-Hispanic White. Programs targeting risk factors for poor physical health also may improve mental health in the community.