Impact of physical activity on life satisfaction among middle-aged and older adults in China: A longitudinal national study.

Objective: This study examined the impact of physical activity on life satisfaction in middle-aged and older adults in China. Utilizing longitudinal data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) conducted in 2015 and 2018, a total of 6484 participants aged 45 or older were included in the analysis.

Methods: Data were collected on sociodemographic, health, and lifestyle variables, physical activity, and life satisfaction. Physical activity was categorized into 3 levels: low (71%), moderate (25%), and high (4%). Ordinal logistic regression and subgroup analysis were used to examine the effect of baseline physical activity on life satisfaction, including the examination of interaction effects.

Results: After adjusting for age, gender, education, marriage, residence, smoking, alcohol use, depressive symptoms, and self-rated health at baseline (2015), compared to the moderate-intensity physical exercise group, those in the low-intensity group experienced significantly lower levels of life satisfaction on follow-up (2018). In the subgroup analyses, a significant negative effect of low-intensity physical activity on life satisfaction was found in all groups regardless of age, education, marital status, smoking, alcohol use, sleep duration, weight, presence of chronic diseases, or self-rated health.

Conclusion: These results support the promotion of physical exercise to enhance life satisfaction among middle-aged and older adults in China.