Does Physical Activity Make Russian Youth Happier?

Abstract

The article considers the relationship between the indicators of physical activity of youth in Russia and the level of their life satisfaction.The authors draw attention to the importance of understanding how physical culture and sports can contribute to the formation of an indicator of the subjective well-being of youth in Russia (on the example of students). The study is based on data from the Russian Longitudinal MonitoringSurvey – Higher School of Economics (RLMS – HSE). For empirical analysis were used individual panel data for 2009–2019. The analyzed sample includes full-time students of Russian universities, technical colleges and colleges aged 16 to 25 (2918 men and 3417 women).The first part of the article analyzes trends and characteristics of the physical activity of Russian students in recent years before the COVID-19 pandemic, reveals preferences for engaging in specific types of physical activity and sports, analyzes the intensity of these activities and assesses life satisfaction of Russian students depending on their level of physical activity and sports.Based on the patterns identified in the first part of the article, hypotheses are formulated about the presence of a positive correlation between the indicators of physical activity of students (physical culture and sports activities and their intensity) and their subjective assessment of life satisfaction. The results of econometric testing of the hypotheses are presented in the second part of the article. Ordered logit regression on panel data with a random individual effect was used for the analysis. Evaluations were conducted for each gender group separately. When constructing the corresponding models, in addition to physical activity indicators, a wide range of individual factors that could affect the life satisfaction of young residents of our country were also taken into account, namely age, gender, place of residence, availability of own housing, self-assessment of health status, body mass index, smoking habit, marital status, income, loan debts of household.The regression analysis demonstrates that, all else being equal, a positive correlation between the physical activity and its intensity, on one hand, and level of life satisfaction on the other, but exclusively for male students. For women, however, only high-intensity physical activity leads to an increase in their level of life satisfaction.According to results of the study, the authors formulated several recommendations aimed at stimulating the physical activity of young students, and concluded that the implementation of special programs to revitalize the lifestyle of Russian students, taking into account the patterns identified in the work, can contribute both to an increase in the share of physically active youth and the growth of the subjective well-being of this category of the population.