The Smog of Exercise: The Causal Effect of Air Pollution on Fitness Behaviors

Wen Cao^1*Tianyu Gao²Chen Ao²Na Li^3*Huijun Xiong^4*

• ¹Jiangxi Rural Commercial United Bank Co.,Ltd., Nanchang, China
• ²Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang, China
• ³Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China
• ⁴Shanghai Lixin University of Accounting and Finance, Shanghai, China

With the rapid advancement of industrialization and urbanization in China, air pollution is now an increasingly serious issue, drawing heightened attention to its effects on both the mental and physical health of individuals. From the perspective of health behavior, this study investigates residents' engagement in physical activity by examining fitness behavior, utilizing temperature inversion as an instrumental variable for air pollution. The analysis is based on a dataset comprising 63,340 respondents from the China Family Panel Studies conducted between 2010 and 2018. Applying the two-stage least squares method, the paper empirically tests the causal link between air pollution and residents' fitness participation. The results reveal a statistically significant negative association: as air pollution intensifies, the likelihood of individuals participating in fitness activities decreases. Moreover, the results highlight heterogeneous effects across demographic groups, including differences by gender, age, household registration, and education level. Overall, this study provides robust evidence regarding the health-related economic costs of air pollution.