The effect of forest-environment construction on the physical activity among Chinese adults

Abstract

The Chinese government attaches great importance to the construction of the National Forest City (NFC), aiming at creating a pleasant living environment beneficial for people’s health and well-being. This study aimed to estimate the effect of the NFC policy on the frequency of physical activity (PA) for people in mainland China. Using the nationally representative data from the China Family Panel Studies in 2010 and its follow-up in 2018, 17 704 participants aged 18 and older were analyzed in our study. We employed the two-way fixed estimator in the difference in difference setting to analyze the PA of the adults in the cohort with different development levels of the forest-environment construction measured by the number of NFCs, and explore the relative differences before and after the construction of NFC. Subgroup analysis of age group, gender and living areas and a series of robustness tests were further conducted. The mean age of 17 704 participants in 2010 was (45.03 ± 13.67) years old, 51.74% of which were female and 48.26% were male. DID results showed that after the construction of NFC, the frequency of PA increased by 1.35 (β = 1.35, 95% CI:0.73–1.98) per week compared to those in provinces without NFC after adjusting covariates. And the improving effect of the forest-environment construction on PA frequency was intensified in middle-aged and older adults aged 45 and above (β = 2.03, 95% CI:1.09–2.96), males (β = 1.26, 95% CI:0.39–2.12) and females (β = 1.49, 95% CI:0.58–2.40) and those living in urban areas (β = 1.29, 95% CI:0.57–2.00). Our findings showed that the forest-environment construction under the NFC strategy has a positive role in the PA of older adults, indicating the health-promoting effects of the national green low-carbon environmental strategy. Considering the heterogeneity, it is essential to promote the benefits of green exercise for young and rural adults.