An empirical analysis of the effects of physical exercise and socioeconomic status on the multidimensional health of urban and rural residents: take China’s microdatabase analysis as an example

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected physical and mental health around the world, and an increasing number of groups are seeking important means to improve individual health. The fitness, social, and economic functions that sports possess have attracted widespread attention. Methods: This article used data from the China General Social Survey (CGSS2017). This article divides multidimensional health into three aspects: mental health, physical health and social health. By constructing a binary logistic model, this paper intends to address two theoretical hypotheses: 1) participation in physical exercise significantly improves the multidimensional health of urban and rural residents, and 2) socioeconomic status plays a mediating role in the process of physical exercise promoting the health of urban and rural residents. Result: After including independent and control variables, the results of Model (1) indicate that participation in physical exercise can significantly improve the mental health of urban and rural residents (p=0.000 < 0.01), and the OR value (odds ratio=exp0.159) is 1.172. Model (3) results indicate that participation in physical exercise significantly improves the physical health of individuals (p=0.000 < 0.01), and the OR (odds ratio=exp0.239) is 1.270. Model (5) results indicate that participation in physical exercise significantly improves social health (p=0.000<0.01), and the OR (odds ratio=exp0.305) is 1.357. Hypothesis 1 was verified. The establishment of a mediating effect test model showed that participation in physical activity improves individuals' multidimensional health by improving their socioeconomic status, that socioeconomic status is a mediating path for participation in physical activity to improve individuals' multidimensional health, and that it is a partially mediating path. Hypothesis 2 was verified. Conclusion: Participation in physical exercise can significantly improve the multidimensional health of individuals, and this effect is heterogeneous for groups with different household, marital, regional, and educational levels; participation in physical exercise can significantly increase the possibility of individuals improving their socioeconomic status; and socioeconomic status plays a mediating role in the process of participating in physical exercise to improve the multidimensional health of individuals.