Exploring the Relationship between Walking and Emotional Health in China

Zhenjun Zhu, Hongsheng Chen, Jianxiao Ma, Yudong He, Junlan Chen and Jingrui Sun
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Zhenjun Zhu: College of Automobile and Traffic Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Hongsheng Chen: School of Architecture, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
Jianxiao Ma: College of Automobile and Traffic Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Yudong He: College of Automobile and Traffic Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Junlan Chen: School of Transportation, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
Jingrui Sun: College of Automobile and Traffic Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 23, 1-9

Abstract: Walking has a positive impact on people’s emotional health. However, in the case of serious air pollution, it is controversial whether walking exercise can still improve individuals’ emotional health. Using data from the 2014 wave of the China Labor-Force Dynamics Survey, this study explored the relationship between walking and emotional health with different levels of environmental pollution. The results indicated that respondents who took regular walks had better emotional health than those who did not walk regularly. For those whose main mode of physical exercise was walking, the average number of walks per week was significantly and positively correlated with their emotional health; however, the average duration of the walk had no significant impact on their emotional health. Moreover, for those whose main mode of physical exercise was walking and who lived in neighborhoods with a polluted environment, regular walking still had a positive impact on their emotional health. This suggests that even if environmental pollution is serious, walking still plays an important role in regulating individuals’ mental health. We propose that in order to promote the emotional health of residents, it is necessary to create more public spaces for outdoor activities and simultaneously increase efforts to control environmental pollution.

Keywords: walking; emotional health; physical exercises; air pollution; health effect (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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