Subjective Happiness And Vitality In Relation To Experience Of Supporting The Japanese Football League

PURPOSE: There are limited studies that have investigated the psychological health benefits of sports in terms of "watching" and "supporting," aspects of sports other than "playing." This cross-sectional study evaluated the relationship of supporting vs not supporting Japanese Football League (J-League) with subjective happiness and vitality. METHODS: A total of 2,452 participants, with 1,923 supporting and 529 not supporting a specific team, participated in an internet study between July 19 to 22, 2024. In addition to the characteristics of the participants, presence and enthusiasm of supporting a specific team were investigated. Subjective happiness and vitality were assessed using the Japanese versions of Subjective Happiness and Vitality Scales and converted to a binary value using the median. Multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for the high subjective happiness and vitality (≥median) were obtained using logistic regression models while adjusting for age, sex, area of residence, occupation, household income, educational background, marital status, number of people living together, exercise habit, smoking, and alcohol drinking. RESULTS: The ORs (95% CIs) of high subjective happiness and vitality for the supporting group were 1.22 (0.98 − 1.51) and 1.37 (1.11 − 1.69), respectively, compared to the group that did not support a specific team. Using the "No, I am not a fan" reference group, ORs (95% CIs) for the "I am a fan, but not enthusiastically" group, the "I am a somewhat enthusiastic fan" group, and the "I am an enthusiastic fan" group were 1.20 (0.96 − 1.51), 1.12 (0.87 − 1.45), and 1.89 (1.29 − 2.76) for high subjective happiness (p for trend = 0.020), and 1.25 (1.00 − 1.55), 1.53 (1.19 − 1.97), and 1.93 (1.33 − 2.81) for high subjective vitality (p for trend <0.001), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This cross-sectional study showed that those who support a specific J-League Football team tended to have higher prevalence of subjective happiness and vitality than those who did not support a team. In addition, the level of enthusiasm for a specific team showed a dose-response relationship with high subjective happiness and vitality.