ArticleApplied psychology. Health and well-being2025
Physical activity, health, and life satisfaction: Four panel studies demonstrate reciprocal effects.
Article in Applied psychology. Health and well-being, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Body Fat, and Physical Activity as Predictors of Life Satisfaction in Teachers and Preschool Education Students: The Mediating Role of Self-Rated Health.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Estimating differences in life satisfaction as a function of health-related behaviours: cross-sectional evidence from the Health Survey for England.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- Associations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with life satisfaction and self-rated health: quantifying the subjective burden in a population-based study.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Stratified patterns of healthcare-seeking behavior among older adults in Fujian, China: exploring the behavioral foundations of health inequality.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Physical activity, health, and life satisfaction: Four panel studies demonstrate reciprocal effects.Applied psychology. Health and well-being · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
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Abstract
We examined the between-person correlations and within-person reciprocal effects of physical activity, long-standing health issues, self-rated health, and life satisfaction across four panels using random intercept cross-lagged panel models. Data were analyzed from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey (HILDA, N = 32,913, 21 waves, 1-year intervals), the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP, N = 83,844, 14 waves, 2-year intervals), the Dutch Longitudinal Internet Studies for the Social Sciences Panel (LISS, N = 14,778, 11 waves, 1-year intervals), and the United Kingdom Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS, N = 50,032, 4 waves, 2-year intervals). The analysis of the first two panels focused on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and sports participation in leisure time, whereas the latter two examined physical activity intensities (light, moderate, and vigorous). Across all panels, physical activity and its intensities were positively correlated with long-standing health issues, self-rated health, and life satisfaction. Within-person analyses revealed primarily positive bidirectional effects between physical activity and self-rated health and between physical activity and life satisfaction, with self-rated health effects more pronounced at higher physical activity intensities and life satisfaction at lower intensities. Effects between physical activity and long-standing health issues were less consistent, appearing mainly for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity intensities in 1-year intervals. Physical activity intensities had different effects on self-rated health and life satisfaction, and the effects were bidirectional in nature. These results suggest that physical activity interventions should be tailored to intensity: Light activity may enhance more effective life satisfaction, while higher intensities better support health. The existing bidirectional effects may further trigger an upward spiral, reinforcing improvements in both health and well-being.
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