Physically active adults reported higher levels of family happiness, harmony and health: findings from the Hong Kong Family and Health Information and Trends Survey (FHinTs) under FAMILY: A Jockey Club Initiative for a Harmonious Society Project

Abstract

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance showed half (50.1%) of Hong Kong adults, aged 18-64, had not performed moderate physical activity (PA) and two-third (62.2%) had not performed vigorous physical activity (PA) in the past week. Whether PA was associated with family well-being (happiness, harmony and health) is less known. We examined the associations of moderate and vigorous PA with perceived family health, happiness and harmony in Hong Kong adults. The Hong Kong Family and Health Information and Trends Survey (FHinTs) was conducted in 2013 using random telephone interviews on 1502 adults aged 18+ with 70.6% response rate. PA was measured using two questions: (1) During the past 7 days, on how many days did you do at least 10 minutes of moderate physical activities (e.g. carrying light loads, or bicycling at a regular pace but do not include walking)? (2) Same question on vigorous physical activities (e.g. aerobics, heavy lifting, or fast bicycling)? Family well-being was measured using three separate questions of perceived family happiness, harmony and health with response ranging from 0-10 with higher scores indicating better well-being. General linear model was used to calculate β-coefficient for family well-being adjusting for potential confounders. Data were weighted by sex and age using 2012 census data. Of 1502 respondents (45.5% male, 73.4% aged 25-64), the average days of having moderate and vigorous PA were 2.42 (±2.75), and 1.46 (±2.13) respectively. Moderate PA was significantly associated with family happiness (adjusted β=0.09, p<0.001), and harmony (adjusted β=0.06, p=0.01) but not health (adjusted β=0.03, p=0.25). Vigorous PA was significantly associated with family happiness (adjusted β=0.12, p<0.001), harmony (adjusted β=0.09, p<0.001) and health (adjusted β=0.05, p=0.03). Increasing PA levels was associated with family well-being. Prospective studies are needed to confirm the findings. Intervention studies are warranted.