Does exercise participation promote happiness?: Mediations and heterogeneities

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Behavioral Economics
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Subjective well-being and happiness are crucial public health goals.
• Understanding the determinants of happiness, such as lifestyle choices, is essential for policy development.
• The relationship between exercise and happiness requires rigorous empirical investigation, accounting for potential endogeneity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To empirically examine the relationship between exercise participation and happiness in China.
• To address endogeneity and reverse causality issues using an instrumental variable (IV) approach.
• To explore the mediating role of health factors in the exercise-happiness connection.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a nationally representative, large-scale dataset from China.
• Employed the instrumental variable (IV) approach to mitigate endogeneity concerns.
• Conducted robustness checks using various happiness measures, IVs, models, machine learning, and placebo tests.

Main Results:

• Higher exercise participation frequency is positively associated with increased happiness.
• Physical exercise significantly reduces depressive disorders, improves self-rated health, and decreases health problems.
• The positive effect of exercise on happiness is partly mediated by improvements in mental and physical health outcomes.
• Exercise benefits are more pronounced for males, older individuals, the unmarried, rural residents, and those with lower socioeconomic status or higher depression levels.

Conclusions:

• Physical activity is a significant contributor to enhanced happiness, primarily through improved health.
• Findings underscore the importance of promoting exercise for public health policy aimed at increasing subjective well-being.
• Interventions targeting specific demographic groups may maximize the happiness-enhancing effects of physical activity.