Does sport-participation improve health? A panel analysis on the role of educational attainment, economic deprivation and work-family load

In this study, we analyze the connection between a person's sport-participation and reported subjective health. We hypothesize that this relationship may be affected by educational attainment, economic deprivation and work-family load in two manners. First, these resources may function as common determinants of health and sports participation causing a spurious effect. Moreover, they may moderate this relationship as physical activity might be more beneficial for groups that experience a lack of resources. Our second goal is to study differences between people, and also to investigate developments within individuals' life courses. In doing so, a stronger claim on causation is feasible. The NEtherlands Longitudinal Lifecourse Study (NELLS) 2009/2013 on the Dutch population of 15-45 years is used to test our hypotheses with cross-sectional and fixed effects models. Our results show that men and women who have a higher sports frequency report better subjective health, but for women differences in subjective health are partially explained by education, economic deprivation and work-family load. We hardly find moderating effects of these particular resources. This underscores that sport participation is beneficial among members of all educational groups, with various work-family loads and for both people in wealth and poverty