Life Satisfaction Links Physical Activity to Changes in General Health among Older Adults

Background: Regular physical activity (PA) and life satisfaction (LS) are critical concepts of healthy aging that enhance physical functioning and psychosocial resilience in later life. Evidence suggests that PA may improve general health (GH) indirectly through improvements in subjective well-being. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine whether LS functions as a psychosocial pathway through which PA influences GH among older adults. Methods: Longitudinal data from a sample of more than 3,600 adults aged 50 and older in the 2020 and 2022 Health and Retirement Study were analyzed. Latent constructs for PA and LS (2020) were validated using factor analysis and item response theory. Structural equation models (SEMs) were then estimated to predict GH in 2022, including an unadjusted model, a model adjusting for baseline GH, and a fully adjusted model controlling for sociodemographic, behavioral, and health covariates. Indirect effects were evaluated using joint significance and Sobel tests, and additional binary, ordinal, and linear path models using factor scores assessed robustness. Results: All survey‑adjusted SEMs demonstrated good fit and significant effects. In the fully adjusted model, PA predicted higher LS, and LS predicted improvements in GH over time. PA also showed a significant indirect effect on GH through LS, indicating partial mediation. Path model analyses supported these findings; notably, each one‑unit increase in PA was associated with higher odds of maintaining or achieving good GH partly because PA improved LS. Conclusion: Overall, results suggest that LS is an important psychosocial mechanism linking PA to better health outcomes in later life. Strengthening LS may enhance the health benefits of PA and serve as a promising target for interventions aimed at promoting healthy aging.