Physical exercise frequency and subjective well-being among older adults in China: a cross-sectional analysis

Physical exercise is associated with subjective well-being in later life, but estimates from cross-sectional surveys require measurement-aligned models and cautious interpretation. We analyzed 1,872 adults aged 60 years or older from the 2021 Chinese General Social Survey. A five-category global happiness item was modeled with ordered probit regression, and standardized predicted probabilities quantified the magnitude of association.

An exploratory bootstrap decomposition estimated cross-sectional indirect associations through self-rated health and lower depressive mood. Higher exercise frequency was associated with greater well-being (b = 0.0795, 95% CI 0.0482–0.1109, P = 6.55 × 10^-7). Setting all respondents to daily rather than no exercise corresponded to a 6.8-percentage-point higher average predicted probability of well-being of 4 or 5 (87.9% vs. 81.1%).

Indirect associations through self-rated health and lower depressive mood accounted for 7.33% and 7.20% of the total association, respectively; together they accounted for 14.53%. After false-discovery-rate correction, age, gender, and spouse co-residence did not modify the association, whereas the slope weakened as household economic status increased (interaction b = − 0.0487, adjusted P = 0.025). These findings identify a modest, robust cross-sectional association but do not establish causal or temporal pathways.

During revision, the authors used OpenAI ChatGPT to assist with English-language editing and document preparation. The authors reviewed and verified the scientific content and take full responsibility for the manuscript. College of State Governance, Southwest University, Chongqing, China Sport Rehabilitation Research Institute of Southwest University, Chongqing, China The authors declare no competing interests.

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