Lifestyle
Lifestyle
Lifestyle: More Than Just Health and Wellness
September 5, 2025 – Frank Bills, PhD, CPT
When you hear the word “lifestyle,” it probably feels like an everyday term. But it wasn’t always that way. In fact, the idea of lifestyle as we know it today only really took off in the U.S. during the mid-1900s. Since then, it’s become a key way we talk about identity, choices, and the way we live.
Where the Idea Came From
Before World War II, people talked about themselves based on their class, job, or where they came from. Then, things changed. In the 50s and 60s, suburbs grew a lot and people started buying more stuff. Advertisers figured out they could sell things not just by saying they were useful, but by saying they would help people be themselves. All of a sudden, a car or neighborhood wasn’t just about getting around or having a place to live—it was about showing what you liked and what you believed in. By the 70s, lifestyle was the word everyone was using, and by the end of the century, Americans just talked about who they were and how they lived that way
Lifestyle vs. Health vs. Wellness
Lifestyle often gets mixed up with health and wellness, but they’re not the same.
Health is about the condition of your body and mind. It’s measurable—things like blood pressure, energy levels, or whether you’re free of illness.
Wellness takes health a step further. It includes balance and prevention—mental, emotional, and even spiritual well-being. Things like meditation, good nutrition, or stress management all fall under wellness.
Lifestyle, though, is bigger. It’s the overall way you live, shaped by your values, habits, and choices. It might include health and wellness, but it also covers things like fashion, hobbies, career, relationships, and even political or environmental commitments
People usually mix up lifestyle with being healthy, but they’re not the same thing. Being healthy is about how your body and mind are. We can measure it with things like blood pressure and how energetic you feel, or if you’re sick. Being well is more than just being healthy. It’s about balance and taking care of yourself mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Things like meditation, eating well, and dealing with stress are all involved. Your lifestyle is even bigger than that. It’s how you live, based on what you care about, what you normally do, and the choices you make. It can include being healthy and well, but it also covers things like your style, what you like to do for fun, your job, who you hang out with, and even what you think about politics or the environment.
Why Lifestyle Is the Bigger Picture
Okay, so check it out: someone could be all about owning less stuff and doing more cool things. Or maybe they’re super into hiking and camping all the time. They both might do yoga or something for their health, but their lifestyle is really about the big choices they make in life and what they care about most. Basically, you can be healthy in almost any kind of lifestyle. A big-shot CEO might do yoga to chill out, even if they’re still working crazy hours. And someone else might focus on living green and helping their town, even if they don’t work out every day. Think of lifestyle as the main idea, and health and wellness are just part of it.
What It Says About Us
American culture’s emphasis on lifestyle is a clear indication of how significantly choice and individuality matter to us. It demonstrates that life is not only a matter of nature, but also of nurture. Besides, the concept of living has significantly been influenced by consumerism. Most “lifestyle choices” revolve around consumption of specific foods, clothes, or gadgets. The combination of personal freedom and marketing influence is what makes lifestyle both enabling and trivialized by commerce.
Final Thoughts
Lifestyle achieved the status of a commonplace concept in the U.S. during the mid-20th century, greatly influenced by consumer culture and an increasing emphasis on the self. In comparison with health and wellness, lifestyle is not only centered on the individual’s well-being; it is about living as a complete person. It’s your decisions, routines, and morals that tell people who you really are.
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