Attending live sports improves well-being: study

Published in the magazine Frontiers in public healthThe study is the first large-scale study to examine the benefits of attending any type of live sporting event.

The research, conducted by academics from Anglia Ruskin University’s School of Psychology and Sport Science, used data from 7,209 adults aged 16 to 85, living in England, who took part in the Taking Part Survey, which was carried out commissioned by the UK government’s Department for Digital. , Culture, Media and Sports.

It found that attending live sporting events results in higher scores on two key measures of subjective well-being – life satisfaction and a sense of ‘life worth living’ – and lower levels of loneliness.

These results are significant because previous studies have shown that higher life satisfaction scores are associated with fewer life-limiting conditions and better physical health, successful aging and lower mortality rates.

The new research also shows that attending live sporting events leads to an increase in people’s sense that ‘life is worth living’, and that the magnitude of this increase is comparable to that of finding work.

Many initiatives are currently promoting the benefits of physical participation in sport, but the researchers believe that watching live sporting events could also provide an accessible and effective public health tool to improve wellbeing and reduce loneliness.

Lead author Dr. Helen Keyes, head of the School of Psychology and Sport Science at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), said: “Previous research has focused on specific sports or small populations, such as students in the United States. first research into the benefits of attending a sporting event for an adult population, and therefore our findings could be useful for shaping future public health strategies, such as offering lower ticket prices for certain groups.

“The live events covered by the research ranged from free amateur events, such as watching village sports teams, through to Premier League football matches. Therefore, further research should be carried out to see whether these benefits are more apparent for elite sport. , or are more closely linked to the support of a specific team.

“However, we do know that watching live sport of all kinds provides many opportunities for social interaction and this helps forge group identity and belonging, which in turn alleviates loneliness and increases levels of well-being.”