ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Health Education and Promotion
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Role of Physical Education in Adolescent Life Satisfaction and Well-beingView all 7 articles
The Impact of Physical Exercise, Health Effect, and Harmony Effect on Young Adults' Fertility Attitudes: A Study Based on Empirical Analysis of 2023 CGSS Data
Provisionally accepted
- 1Jimei University, Xiamen, Fujian Province, China
- 2Beijing Sport University, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
- 3East China Jiaotong University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
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China urgently needs to enhance residents' attitudes to have additional children. Based on leisure theory and demographic principles, this paper examines the role of physical exercise in shaping fertility attitudes. We first identify the prerequisites and inherent benefits of physical exercise, then use data from the 2023 Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) to test its influence on the desire for another child. Results demonstrate that participation in sports substantially improve fertility attitudes, with the effect remaining robust after addressing endogeneity. Mediation analysis shows this link is driven by two pathways: better physical and mental health, and stronger family cohesion and life satisfaction. These findings suggest that promoting accessible and appealing physical exercise can effectively complement fertility support policies and help optimize China's strategies for raising birth rates.
Keywords: physical exercise, fertility attitudes, Health effect, harmony effect, Chinese General Social Survey
Received: 07 Jan 2025; Accepted: 24 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Lin, xinze and cong. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Li Lin, 1083844909@qq.com
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