| By: |
Nazmi Sari;
Michael Lechner |
| Abstract: |
Even though insufficient participation in physical activity is shown to be one
of the major contributors to chronic diseases, and poor health, participation
in physical activity still remains to be substantially low in developed
countries including Canada. In this paper, we examine the long-run health
effects of participation in sports and exercise among inactive Canadian
adults. Based on informative Canadian panel data and semiparametric matching
estimation, we show that participation in sports and exercise generally
improves physical health and mental well-being of individuals. While this
effect is statistically significant and persistent for men, we do not find a
similar effect for women. Our results also indicate that positive health
effects are only achieved with a level of physical activity that is larger
than the current national and international health organizations' guidelines
for the minimum level of activity. |
| Keywords: |
physical activity, sports, exercise, subjective health, mental health, treatment effect |
| JEL: |
I12 I18 L83 C21 C23 |
| Date: |
2015–11 |
| URL: |
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cch:wpaper:150018&r=spo |