Relationship between physical activity and purpose in life
RESEARCH BRIEF
Most adults (myself included) do not regularly engage in levels of physical activity recommended by Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services); that is at least 2.5 – 5 hours per week of moderate intensity activity. https://health.gov/sites/default/files/2019-10/PAG_ExecutiveSummary.pdf
Researchers want to identify factors, such as purpose in life, that might propel greater levels of physical activity. They wonder if people who have a strong sense of purpose may engage in more physical activity because they understand that investing in their health will enable them to continue their purpose pursuits.
Research question: Is there a relationship between having a strong sense of purpose in life and participation in physical activity?
How researchers studied this question: Investigators analyzed self-reported purpose in life and physical activity levels over a 4-year period in 14,159 older people (average age of 68) who had enrolled in large longitudinal studies of aging in the United States (Yemiscigil & Vlaev, 2021). They used an analytic method called structural equation modeling to evaluate the association between purpose in life and physical activity. In a smaller, earlier study, Hooker and Masters (2016) examined the relationship between purpose and physical activity by asking 104 adults to report on their sense of purpose in life via questionnaires and then wear activity monitors (accelerometer) for three days.
Answer: Yes, having a sense of purpose in life is associated with participating in physical activities and that relationship is bi-directional. By that I mean, people with sense of purpose tend to engage in greater levels of physical activity AND that those who engage in greater levels of activity seem to experience more purpose in their lives. While it’s possible that the 14,000-plus people in the 4-year study fudged their self-reported physical activity levels to make themselves look better, the results were similar when activity levels were objectively measured using accelerometers in the smaller study.
So What? Any way you look at it, we benefit from engaging in a regular regimen of physical activities (like walking, gardening, dancing, playing sports) and if we aspire to purpose-oriented lives, we better get moving. We already know this, don’t we? As someone who is trying to adhere to a program to do so, I marvel at why this is so hard, especially since the effort is fundamentally about the value we place on our own beautiful lives. As Ryff and Singer (1998) proposed, “taking good care of oneself in terms of daily health practices presupposes a life that is worth taking care of” (p. 22). Mine is and so is yours.
How about you? Are you purposefully and sufficiently moving in daily life?
Sources:
Hooker SA, Masters KS (2016). Purpose in life is associated with physical activity measured by accelerometer. Journal of Health Psychology, 21(6), 962-971. doi: 10.1177/1359105314542822
Find abstract here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25104777/
Ryff CD, Singer B (1998). The contours of positive human health. Psychological Inquiry, 9, 1-28. doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli0901_1
Find abstract here: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1999-05656-001
Yemiscigil A, Vlaev I (2021). The bidirectional relationship between sense of purpose in life and physical activity: a longitudinal study. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 44, 715-725. doi: 10.1007/s10865-021-00220-2
Find the abstract here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33891209/