Happiness is a combination of an individual’s satisfaction with family, life, and society (L. Li et al., 2023). Enhancing the sense of well-being of residents has been an unremitting pursuit in China’s social development (He et al., 2022). Some studies (e.g., Cai et al., 2020; Cui, 2019; Sachs et al., 2018; Z. Tang, 2014) have reported that the subjective well-being of Chinese residents has gradually declined since the 1990s, bottoming out between 2000 and 2005 and then beginning to rebound. However, with the rapid social and economic development that has taken place, the work and life burden of residents has increased, and the state of labor, with long hours of work, high intensity, frequent overload, and low return, seriously affect their quality of life (Zhu et al., 2012, 2013). Therefore, enhancing the subjective well-being of China’s residents has become an important issue that urgently needs to be addressed.

 

Physical exercise is an important means of improving one’s lifestyle, promoting physical and mental harmony, identifying with social norms, and acquiring social roles (L. J. Tang et al., 2008). Although there are many benefits of taking regular physical exercise, inadequate exercise is still prevalent (Zou et al., 2020). In daily work and life, physical exercise can regulate the body and mind, alleviate anxiety, relieve stress, and have positive promotional benefits for the subjective well-being of the individual (L. Li et al., 2023). For example, Brief et al. (1993), Costigan et al. (2019), and L. Li et al. (2023) are among the many researchers who have found a significant positive correlation between physical exercise and people’s subjective well-being. The results of meta-analytic reviews conducted in Germany (Buecker et al., 2021) and among elderly people in Korea (Won et al., 2020) showed a positive correlation between physical exercise and subjective well-being in these populations. Qiao and Fan (2020) pointed out that physical exercise is rich in elements such as leisure, games, and competition, which stimulate the release of dopamine and endorphins, improve the sense of pleasure, and alleviate anxiety and tension.

 

However, the focus in most previous studies conducted in China has been on localized areas. Examples include surveys conducted only with people living in towns (L. Li et al., 2023) or in a single province or city (Tan et al., 2018), and those focused on community-dwelling older adults (Ren et al., 2022) or college student groups (H. Zhou & Zhou, 2022). Given the lack of a comprehensive analysis of data from a nationwide sample of adults of different genders and age groups, including young adults, middle-aged adults, and older adults, this study explored the relationship between physical exercise and the subjective well-being of Chinese adults, in order to further enrich research in this area. Our first hypothesis was as follows:

Hypothesis 1: There will be a significant association between physical activity and subjective well-being among Chinese adults, with exercisers having greater subjective well-being compared with nonexercises.

 

The micromechanisms of the relationship between physical exercise and subjective well-being can be explained at the physical, mental, and social construction levels. First, various problems arising from physical and mental health are major risk factors for quality of life, often leading to an accumulation of negative emotions and causing a decrease in subjective well-being (Zhan & Zhao, 2018). For example, Huang and Humphreys (2012) and Zhang and Li (2021) showed that engaging in physical exercise improves physical fitness and enhances mental health, which, in turn, is effective in enhancing subjective well-being. It has also been found that physical fitness is significantly and positively correlated with positive well-being, and is significantly and negatively correlated with mental worries and fatigue (Wang & Du, 2010). Dobewall et al. (2018) and Panza et al. (2019) observed a significant positive correlation between physical health and subjective well-being. In addition, Wei and Quan (2020) reported finding a significant positive correlation between mental health and subjective well-being, which suggests that the promotion of people’s mental health through physical exercise can further enhance their subjective well-being at the same time. Second, subjective well-being has connotations of measuring an individual’s level of social functioning and adjustment, so that we anticipated socialization may play a mediating role in the relationship between physical exercise and subjective well-being. According to activity theory (Diener et al., 2018), happiness stems from behaviors, not from the goals of the behaviors, where deeply interactive behaviors, such as social engagement, are considered important activities to promote subjective well-being (Chen et al., 2022; Levasseur et al., 2010). In addition, Downward and Rasciute (2011) and Gatab and Pirhayti (2012) showed that regular participation in socially interactive physical exercise contributes to the construction of a good social network and improves quality of life and subjective well-being. Thus, we formed our second hypothesis:

Hypothesis 2: Physical and mental health and socialization will mediate the relationship between physical exercise and subjective well-being among Chinese adults.

 

Our study sought to address the research deficiencies identified in the preceding commentary. We used data drawn from the 2021 Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS; National Survey Research Center, 2023) to explore in depth the intrinsic mechanisms of the relationship between physical exercise and subjective well-being among Chinese adults. Our aims were to further enrich the research evidence in the field of physical education and sport, provide data to support the formulation of relevant policies, and contribute to the evolving development of a healthy China.

The study was conducted using data obtained from respondents to the CGSS 2021. The CGSS is the earliest national, comprehensive, and continuous academic survey program in China, through which data are collected systematically and comprehensively at multiple levels of society from communities, families, and individuals. Topics of great scientific and practical significance are explored, and the survey serves as a multidisciplinary platform for economic and social data collection (National Survey Research Center, 2023). Given that the CGSS is a public, open, and shared database and is widely used in research, teaching, and government decision making, no ethical certification was required for this study.

 

The CGSS 2021 contains data obtained from 2,690 Chinese adults on subjective well-being. We analyzed data from 2,194 people after excluding invalid responses (e.g., “Don’t know” or “Refused to answer”). In addition, data obtained from 2,192 Chinese adults on their physical exercise were analyzed after excluding two samples with invalid responses. For missing values of other mediator and control variables, we used linear interpolation to add them. The mean age of the 2,192 respondents was 49.18 years (SD = 17.18) and the sample comprised 1,276 (58.2%) urban and 916 (41.8%) rural residents, 991 (45.2%) of whom were men and 1,201 (54.8%) of whom were women. In addition, 1,502 (68.5%) of the respondents engaged in physical exercise.

In the CGSS 2021 there were 21 entries on subjective well-being (10 positive and 11 negative), where respondents assessed each topic using a 6-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 6 = strongly agree). An example of a positive statement is “Most of the goals I have set in my life give me encouragement rather than discouragement.” Higher scores indicate higher levels of well-being. An example of a negative statement is “I am not sure of the significance of what I am doing in my life.” Higher scores indicate lower levels of well-being. We obtained the subjective well-being of the respondents by averaging their scores for the 21 statements after the negative statements were reverse scored for ease of computation and the scores had been summed.

The CGSS 2021 investigated the frequency of physical exercise that respondents had taken in their leisure time during the past year. In our sample, 1,502 (68.5%) respondents participated in physical exercise and 690 (31.5%) did not. Only 274 (12.5%) participated in regular exercise and 103 (4.7%) exercised daily. Given the very high variability in this headcount ratio, we referred to previous studies (Feng & Shi, 2022; X. T. Li & Wu, 2022) and transformed the frequency of physical exercise into a dichotomous variable, that is, 1 = never and 2 = a few times a year or less, a few times a month, a few times a week, or every day.

Physical and mental health included perceived physical health, perceived mental health, and body mass index; and socialization was reflected by the frequency of socialization.

 

Perceived Physical Health. Respondents were asked “What do you feel is your current state of physical health?” Answers were made on a scale ranging from 1 to 5, with higher scores indicating better physical health.

 

Perceived Mental Health. To assess respondents’ degree of perceived depression or dejection over the past 4 weeks, they used a 5-point self-assessment scale ranging from 1 = always to 5 = never. The higher the score, the better the perceived mental health.

 

Body Mass Index (BMI). Respondents were asked for their height and weight and BMI was calculated according to the following formula: weight (kg)/height (m)².

 

Frequency of Socialization. Respondents were asked “In the past year, have you often socialized during your free time, such as visiting friends and family?” There were five response options ranging from 1 = never to 5 = very often, with higher scores indicating more frequent social interactions.

We referred to previous studies (Cheng et al., 2023; H. Xu et al., 2023) and selected age, gender, place of residence, and family socioeconomic status (FSES) as the four control variables for this study. For age, the date of birth of respondents was recorded in the CGSS 2021 and we calculated 2021 minus their year of birth to obtain the age of the participants. Regarding gender, man was assigned a value of 1 and woman was assigned a value of 2. In terms of place of residence, we assigned a value of 1 to town and a value of 2 to village. For FSES, respondents used a 5-point self-assessment scale to judge their current FSES, with higher scores indicating higher FSES. 

We used SPSS 21.0 and Stata 12.0 software for data processing and statistical analysis. Descriptive statistics in the form of means and standard deviations were used for continuous variables; frequencies and percentages were used for categorical variables. We explored the relationship between subjective well-being as the dependent variable and physical exercise as the independent variable based on multiple linear regression analysis, with the regression coefficient was set as α₁. In addition, we applied mediation effect testing to explore the internal mechanism of the relationship between physical exercise and subjective well-being. We used stepwise tests to construct multiple linear regression models for physical exercise and the mediating variable, with regression coefficients set at β₁, and multiple linear regression models for the relationship between physical exercise and the mediating variable and subjective well-being, with regression coefficients set at γ₁. For interpreting results, a mediating effect is present if α₁, β₁, and γ₁ are significant; there is a full mediating effect if γ₁ is not significant; and there is a partial mediating effect if γ₁ < α₁. The test level for all statistical methods involved in this study was defined as α = .05.

The results of multiple linear regression analysis of the relationship between physical exercise and subjective well-being of Chinese adults (see Table 1) showed that in Model 1, without the inclusion of control variables, respondents who engaged (vs. did not engage) in physical exercise had greater subjective well-being. In Model 2, with the inclusion of the control variables, exercisers still had greater subjective well-being than did nonexercisers. Therefore, Hypothesis 1 was supported.

The results of the multiple linear regression analysis of physical exercise and mediating variables (see Table 2) showed that there was a significant association between physical exercise and respondents’ perception of their physical health and frequency of socialization, but not between physical exercise and respondents’ perception of their mental health or their BMI. Thus, there was no evidence to support the role of perception of mental health or BMI as potential mediators.

 

The results showed that engaging in physical exercise was associated with physical health and socialization. In addition, the multiple linear regression analysis of physical exercise and mediating variables with subjective well-being (see Table 2) showed nonsignificant regression coefficients of physical exercise with both perception of physical health and the frequency of socialization; therefore, perception of physical health and the frequency of socialization played a fully mediating role in the relationship between physical exercise and subjective well-being. In conclusion, Hypothesis 2 was partially supported, that is, engaging in physical exercise improved people’s subjective well-being by promoting their physical health and enhancing social interactions. The path analysis is detailed in Figure 1.

Results in Table 1 also showed that women and village residents had lower subjective well-being relative to men and town residents.

The results of this study showed that engaging in physical exercise was significantly associated with subjective well-being among Chinese adults, that is, exercisers had greater subjective well-being than did those who did not exercise. The results of this study are similar to those of previous studies conducted in China with localized populations (L. Li et al., 2023; Ren et al., 2022; Tan et al., 2018; H. Zhou & Zhou, 2022), all of which supported an association between these two variables. In addition, Buecker et al. (2021) and Won et al. (2020) found a small positive correlation between engaging in physical exercise and subjective well-being, which is similar to the results of this study. Although the relationship between these variables was relatively small, it has a positive significance in promoting the recognition of the importance of exercising and in the promotion of engaging in physical exercise among residents in China.

 

We found that perception of physical health and the frequency of socialization played a statistically significant mediating role in the relationship between physical exercise and subjective well-being. Zautra and Hempel (1984), in a relevant narrative literature review, and Dobewall et al. (2018) and Panza et al. (2019), in their empirical studies, reported a significant positive correlation between physical health and subjective well-being. In addition, a strong positive correlation has been found between frequency of socialization and subjective well-being. Mair and Thivierge-Rikard (2010) found that visiting friends, neighbors, or relatives had a positive contributory benefit for the subjective well-being of rural older adults, and Goswami (2012) found that a positive relationship with friends promotes the subjective well-being of children. It has been widely demonstrated that engaging in physical exercise is an important means of enhancing physical health and facilitating social interactions (Downward & Rasciute, 2011; Gatab & Pirhayti, 2012; Zhang & Li, 2021). Therefore, perception of physical health and socialization frequency must play a mediating role in the relationship between engaging in physical exercise and subjective well-being.

 

Of note, there are some inconsistencies in the results of this study compared with those of previous studies. First, we found that perceived physical health and frequency of socialization fully mediated the relationship between physical exercise and subjective well-being, which is inconsistent with the results obtained by Ge et al. (2023), L. Li et al. (2023), and Ma et al. (2022). These researchers found that variables such as physical and mental health, social support, and peer relationships played a partial mediating role in the relationship of physical exercise and subjective well-being. A reason for this inconsistency may be related to the different measures used in each study. Previous studies used psychological scales for assessment, whereas in the CGSS 2021 there is a single question for subjective assessment. However, overall, our results regarding the mediating roles of physical health and social interaction in the relationship between physical exercise and subjective well-being are consistent with prior work.

 

Second, in this study we did not identify a mediating effect of either perceived mental health or BMI in the relationship between physical exercise and subjective well-being. However, many previous studies (e.g., Bernstein et al., 2004; Chekroud et al., 2018) have indicated that physical exercise has a positive effect on mental health and BMI. The inconsistency in results between our study and these earlier studies may lie in the following two points: First, we coded physical exercise as a categorical variable based on whether the participants were exercising, whereas previous works framed this as a continuous variable. Second, in our study the data for analysis of both perceived mental health and BMI were based on the subjective assessment of the respondents, which may not be as accurate as psychological measurement tools or objective measures. Therefore, we suggest that the relationship of taking physical exercise with mental health and BMI should be explored in subsequent studies using more objective assessment tools.

First, in our study we found that subjective well-being was lower among women and village residents compared to men and residents of towns. Our findings in terms of gender are consistent with those of Deng and Xiang (2023). In Chinese society, women are given the responsibility of taking care of the family and may face greater pressure from both family and their work in paid employment after marriage, giving them a relatively lower sense of well-being compared to men (Deng & Xiang, 2023). In terms of place of residence, the results of this study are consistent with those of E. Y. Zhou and Xin (2023). The main reason for this is that urban residents have more social security services, such as medical care, education, and a pension, as well as more amenities, such as public services and transportation, so their subjective well-being is generally higher than that of residents in rural areas (E.-Y. Zhou & Xin, 2023).

 

Second, we did not find an association of any significance between age and subjective well-being or between FSES and subjective well-being. In terms of age, Hu et al. (2022) found that the relationship between age and subjective well-being was not significant in the groups born pre-1950, post-1950, post-1960, and post-1970, whereas there was a significant association between age and subjective well-being in the post-1980s group. In addition, in an analysis based on a 2022 survey of residents’ livelihood protection needs, Liang (2022) stated that the relationship between age and subjective well-being was not significant, further supporting the results of our study. However, F.-X. Xu and Chen (2020) found a negative correlation between age and subjective well-being, such that perception of well-being decreased as people aged. Therefore, the relationship between these two variables needs to be further explored. For FSES, a number of studies (e.g., Sainz et al., 2021; Sun et al., 2016) have reported a significant negative association between SES and well-being. Differences in the means of measurement of SES and well-being may have contributed to the divergent results between these studies, and the use of subjective assessment to measure the above variables in the CGSS 2021, which was the source of data in our study, may have led to shortcomings in the accuracy of our findings.

First, this study had a cross-sectional design and the results cannot demonstrate causal associations between physical exercise and subjective well-being; thus, there is a strong need for cross-lagged studies to validate our findings. Second, we examined the mediating role of perceived physical health, perceived mental health, BMI, and frequency of socialization in the relationship between physical exercise and subjective well-being; however, we may have overlooked other potential mediators. Thus these factors need to be further considered in subsequent studies. In addition, a causal relationship between perceived physical health and frequency of socialization has not yet been revealed, thus constraining exploration of the role of chain mediation in this study.

Using the CGSS 2021 dataset, in this study we explored the relationship between physical exercise and subjective well-being among Chinese adults, as well as the mechanism of the relationship between these variables. We found that there was a significant positive correlation between physical exercise and subjective well-being, and that perceived physical health and frequency of socialization played a mediating role in this relationship. On the basis of these findings, we recommend that policies related to the promotion of physical exercise be developed in order to enhance the physical health and social networking of the Chinese population and improve their subjective well-being.

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