Abstract
Quality of life (QOL) has become an important public health issue. Adults presenting better QOL have shown reduced mortality and risk of chronic diseases and better mental health. Regular physical activity (PA) is consistently associated with a number of health benefits in older adults, including betted QOL, which is a key component of healthy aging. The purpose of the study was to examine how physical activity level and age influenced QOL in adults. Material and Methods: A total of 378 adults from Poland participated in the study (mean age of 57.89 ± 12.54). Respondents completed questionnaires to measure QOL (WHOQOL-BREF) and physical activity level (International Physical Activity Questionnaire-short form). Linear regression analysis was used to examine the effect of age and PA on QOL. Results: Weekly energy expenditure associated with recreational physical activity was correlated with better QOL in all domains: physical (R = 0.5, p < 0.001), physiological (R = 0.4, p < 0.001), social (R = 0.3, p < 0.001) and environmental (R = 0.39, p < 0.001). Increases in PA level predicted increases in the physiological domain (β = 0.41, SE = 0.05, p < 0.001), social domain (β = 0.34, SE = 0.05, p < 0.001) and environmental domain (β = 0.39, SE = 0.05, p < 0.001). In the physical domain, increases in both physical activity level (β = 0.41, SE = 0.04, p < 0.001) and age (β = 0.31, SE = 0.04, p < 0.001) predicted better QOL. Conclusions: Our findings emphasize the potential benefits of physical activity on QOL regardless of age. Although aging is combined with various age-related diseases, quality of life improves with age in physically active adults.