Analysis of Healthy Aging Literacy Levels Among Middle-Aged Populations and Their Association with Health Behavior Choices

Abstract

With the accelerating trend of global population aging, it is crucial to proactively build health reserves early in the life course. Healthy aging literacy, defined as the essential set of knowledge, skills, and abilities that individuals possess to promote health in old age, constitutes a core cognitive resource for shifting from passive disease response to proactive health management. This study focuses on middle-aged populations, systematically elaborating on the theoretical connotation, multidimensional structure, and the pathways through which healthy aging literacy influences health behaviors. The analysis reveals that this literacy is a dynamic system encompassing cognitive, functional, and decisional dimensions. The middle-aged population overall exhibits a "knowledge-practice gap," and its level is jointly influenced by socioeconomic status, individual psychological factors, and social support networks. Regarding the mechanism of action, healthy aging literacy promotes the adoption and maintenance of health behaviors by enhancing psychological pathways such as self-efficacy and optimizing outcome expectations. Furthermore, this process is moderated by contextual factors, demonstrating characteristics of dynamic interaction and co-construction. This study provides an integrative framework for understanding the psychological and behavioral mechanisms of healthy aging in midlife and offers insights for developing targeted intervention strategies.