Effects of Involvement in Recreational Sports on Physical and Mental Health, Quality of Life of the Elderly

This study aims to discuss the effects of involvement in recreational sports on physical and mental health and satisfaction with life. The elderly aged 65 and above in Changhua City in Taiwan were selected by convenience sampling, and total 212 valid copies were acquired. Questionnaire survey and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were utilized for testing the model in this study. The analysis results show the favorable goodness of fit and the following findings. 1. Involvement in recreational sports would positively affect physical and mental health of the elderly. 2. Physical and mental health shows positive effects on their quality of life of the elderly. 3. Physical and mental health shows mediating effects on the relations between involvement in recreational sports and quality of life of the elderly. The results indicated that the main consideration for involvement in recreational sports was "centrality". "Mental health" in physical and mental health is mostly emphasized by the elderly; "social interactions" were considered an important dimension of their quality of life. These findings suggested that in response to the advent of rapidly aging society, senior citizens are encouraged to engage in leisure activities, which could promote physical and mental health, improve quality of life, and achieve "successful aging" in their senior life.