ArticleFrontiers in public health2026
Pathways from physical exercise to life satisfaction among Chinese university students: The chain mediating role of exercise adherence and health literacy.
Article in Frontiers in public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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2 citing papers in PubMed.
- From "wanting to exercise" to "sticking with exercise": motivational profiles and configurational pathways to high exercise adherence among college students-an LPA and fsQCA analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Problematic generative AI use and mental health risks among Chinese university students: latent profiles, network structure, and health literacy as a modifiable resource.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
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8 authors.
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Abstract
Objective: This study aimed to investigate the influence of physical exercise on life satisfaction among college students. To further explore the underlying mechanisms, two mediating variables were introduced: exercise adherence and health literacy. This approach helped analyze the pathway through which physical exercise predicts and affects students' life satisfaction. Methods: A total of 12,573 valid questionnaire responses were collected from 13,042 college students in East China, as listed in the 2024 Ministry of Education announcement of ordinary colleges and universities. The established scales included in the questionnaire are the Physical Activity Rating Scale (PARS-3), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), the Exercise Adherence Scale, and the Health Literacy Scale (HLS-SF9). The data were analyzed using the chain mediation model and the bias-corrected Bootstrap method. Results: Most college students (73.1%) engaged in a low level of physical exercise. Significant positive correlations were found among physical exercise, health literacy, exercise adherence, and life satisfaction (r = 0.137-0.954). After controlling for demographic variables, physical exercise negatively predicted life satisfaction directly ( Conclusion: According to the measurements from the Satisfaction with Life Scale, physical exercise has a significant negative correlation with life satisfaction among college students. Results show that physical exercise can positively influence the life satisfaction of Chinese university students through the chain mediating effect of exercise adherence and health literacy. Future research, using larger and more diverse samples, should further investigate the effects of factors such as age, types of exercise, and duration of activity.
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