Summary: Mental well-being at age 42 strongly predicts how much time people spend on physical activity by age 50, with different kinds of activities linked to distinct aspects of well-being in midlife.
Source: University of Jyväskylä
Overview
Men and women who reported higher levels of mental well-being at age 42 were more likely to be physically active at age 50 than those with lower well-being scores. The research distinguishes between three dimensions of mental well-being—emotional, psychological and social—and shows that different leisure activities relate to different dimensions of well-being during midlife.
How well-being was measured
The study assessed mental well-being using three complementary dimensions. Emotional well-being reflects life satisfaction and the frequency of positive feelings. Psychological well-being captures a sense of personal growth and life purpose. Social well-being concerns relationships, social functioning and connection with the community. Subjective health was also measured, based on self-rated health and reported symptoms.
Key findings
Contrary to expectations from some prior studies, participation in leisure-time physical activity at age 42 did not predict later mental well-being or subjective health at age 50. Instead, higher mental well-being at 42 predicted greater participation in leisure-time physical activity at 50. This suggests that good mental well-being in midlife may act as an important personal resource that helps people maintain an active lifestyle over time.
When the researchers examined specific types of physical activity at age 50, they found distinct cross-sectional relationships with well-being and health:
- Walking was associated with better emotional well-being.
- Rambling or spending time in natural environments correlated with greater social well-being (and, for men, with better subjective health).
- Endurance training was associated with better subjective health.
Sex differences and activity context
Most associations between activity type and well-being were observed for both men and women. However, rambling in nature showed some sex-specific patterns: for men, rambling was linked not only to social and emotional well-being but also to subjective health, and it correlated with how often they did vigorous exercise. The researchers suggest that the meaning and context of nature walks may differ between men and women, which could explain these differences.
“It is possible that rambling in nature means different things for men and women. For example, it correlated with the frequency of vigorous exercise only among men,” says Dr. Tiia Kekäläinen.
Study design and data
The analysis used longitudinal data from the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development (JYLS). The dataset included questionnaire and interview information collected at ages 42 and 50 from 303 participants. JYLS began in 1968 under Professor Lea Pulkkinen at the University of Jyväskylä and is currently part of the Gerontology Research Center, led by Research Director Katja Kokko.
Implications
These findings emphasize the role of mental well-being as a potential driver of later physical activity, rather than physical activity being a clear long-term predictor of improved mental well-being or subjective health in this sample. For practitioners and policymakers, the results suggest that interventions which enhance emotional, psychological and social well-being in midlife could indirectly promote sustained engagement in physical activity. At the same time, the distinct links between activity types and well-being dimensions indicate that a variety of exercise options—walking, nature-based activities, and endurance training—may support different aspects of mental health and self-rated health.
Research team and funding
The article is part of Tiia Kekäläinen’s doctoral thesis and was produced in collaboration between the University of Jyväskylä and the University of Zurich. Funding for the article’s preparation was provided by the Finnish Cultural Foundation. Media contact for the study: Tiia Kekäläinen, University of Jyväskylä.
Original research article
Title: Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Associations between Leisure Time Physical Activity, Mental Well-Being and Subjective Health in Middle Adulthood
Authors: Tiia Kekäläinen, Alexandra M. Freund, Sarianna Sipilä, Katja Kokko
Journal: Applied Research in Quality of Life
DOI: 10.1007/s11482-019-09721-4
Note: The study used open access data from the JYLS cohort at ages 42 and 50 (N = 303).