Relationships between physical activity levels and satisfaction with physical appearance, perceived health and affective well-being

Abstract

The study examined the relationships between physical activity levels and satisfaction with physical appearance, perceived health and affective well-being. Data were collected from the research project on well-being in Croatia (CRO-WELL project). The sample, N=2751 aged 19-81, consisted of adult Internet users who completed an on-line survey. Participants rated their satisfaction with physical appearance and their health status. Well-being was assessed by The Scale of positive and negative experience and participants reported how much they experienced positive (6 items) and negative feelings (6 items) over the last month. Two physical activities frequency measures included how many days a week participants were engaged in a vigorous physical activity such as fitness and sport, as well as in moderate physical activity such as walking and gardening. Personality traits, socio-demographic characteristics, and objective health measures were reported and controlled in analyses. The results of regression analyses showed that satisfaction with physical appearance was predicted positively by both measures of physical activities. Satisfaction with health was predicted positively only by engagement in a vigorous physical activity. Concerning the affective well-being, both vigorous and moderate physical activities had a predictive role in experiencing positive feelings over the last month. Experiencing more negative feelings over the last month was predicted by less vigorous physical activities, however, the predictive value was small. The findings of the study highlight the differential role of vigorous and moderate levels of physical activity in a person’s life and help in understanding their relationships with different measures of well-being, perceived physical appearance and health.