Physical Activity, Stress, Depression, Emotional Intelligence, Logical Thinking, and Overall Health in a Large Lithuanian from October 2019 to June 2020: Age and Gender Differences Adult Sample

Albertas Skurvydas, Ausra Lisinskiene, Marc Lochbaum, Daiva Majauskiene, Dovile Valanciene, Ruta Dadeliene, Natalja Fatkulina and Asta Sarkauskiene
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Albertas Skurvydas: Education Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, K. Donelaičio Street 58, 44248 Kaunas, Lithuania
Ausra Lisinskiene: Education Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, K. Donelaičio Street 58, 44248 Kaunas, Lithuania
Marc Lochbaum: Education Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, K. Donelaičio Street 58, 44248 Kaunas, Lithuania
Daiva Majauskiene: Education Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, K. Donelaičio Street 58, 44248 Kaunas, Lithuania
Dovile Valanciene: Education Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, K. Donelaičio Street 58, 44248 Kaunas, Lithuania
Ruta Dadeliene: Department of Rehabilitation, Physical and Sports Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Health Sciences, Vilnius University, 21/27 M.K. Čiurlionio St., 03101 Vilnius, Lithuania
Natalja Fatkulina: Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, 21/27 M.K. Čiurlionio Street, 03101 Vilnius, Lithuania
Asta Sarkauskiene: Department of Sports, Recreation and Tourism, Klaipėda University, Herkaus Manto Street 84, 92294 Klaipėda, Lithuania

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 23, 1-16

Abstract: This study aimed to examine relationships and group differences among adult people’s (aged 18–74) physical activity (PA), expression of stress, depression, emotional intelligence (EI), logical thinking (LT), and overall health assessment. Two hypotheses were formulated before the study. The first hypothesis is that overweight and obesity in young adults (18 to 34 years) females and males, in particular, should increase sharply and this should be associated with decreased PA, abruptly deteriorating subject health, increased stress, depression, and poorer emotion management and EI. Second hypothesis: We further thought that the better people’s reflective thinking, the more they should live a healthier life (e.g., exercise more and eat healthier), their overweight and obesity should be small or none. We aimed to confirm or reject these two hypotheses. We applied a quantitative cross-sectional study design. The study results revealed that during the lifespan of 18–24 and 25–34 years (young adults) there was a sharp increase in overweight and obesity, a decrease in PA (and especially vigorous physical activity (VPA)) (and this was particularly evident in the male), while research participants felt less stress and depression, subjective assessment of health did not change, and EI increased steadily with age (18–24 to 65–74 years). The higher the EI of the research participants from 18–24 to 65–74 years of age the higher their moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), the less stress and depression they felt. Based on the results, it can be said that both females and males prefer PA “with a hot heart rather than a cold mind.” We base this conclusion on the fact that females and males who have the highest EI also have the highest MVPA while LT is not associated with MVPA.

Keywords: moderate-to-vigorous physical activity; physical health perceptions; mental health; cognitive functioning; personality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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