Effects Of Physical Activity On Ageism And Aging Anxiety In Chinese And Korean Pre-Elderly

China and South Korea, two countries facing a rapid aging crisis, are actively working to promote healthy aging in many ways. Physical activity(PA), aging, anxiety, depression, discrimination, are all important factors that affect the health and quality of life on older adults. PURPOSE: To compare the levels of PA, ageism, and aging anxiety in Chinese and Korean pre-elderly (55-64 years old) and explore the effects of PA on ageism and aging anxiety. METHODS: The study employed quantitative sampling method, and 200 pre-elderly in Region S of China and 201 pre-elderly in Region S of South Korea participated in the survey. The questionnaire consisted of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), ageism and aging anxiety scales, including nationality, gender, body mass index (BMI), marital status, smoking status, education level, and subjective health status. Data analysis used SPSS 22.0 and AMOS 25.0 statistical programs for factor analysis, t test, Pearson's r, analysis of variance, and Structural Equation Model path analysis. RESULTS: The findings showed that the PA level of Korean pre-elderly was higher than Chinese pre-elderly (p=0.027), the ageism level of Chinese pre-elderly was higher than that of Korean pre-elderly (p=0.000), and Chinese pre-elderly had higher levels of aging anxiety than Korean pre-elderly (p=0.001). PA was negatively related to aging anxiety(p=0.044), and was no significant effect to ageism(p=0.439, p>0.05). Ageism was positively related to aging anxiety(p=0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Decreasing aging anxiety, Chinese and Korean pre-elderly need to aware of importance of physical activity and increase the amount of physical activity in daily life. China Scholarship Council(CSC) # 202208615051