Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Physical activity and time preference

  • Research Article
  • Published:
International Journal of Health Economics and Management Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper investigates the link between time preference (whether a person is more present or future oriented) and time spent participating in physical activity. Using data on time spent engaged in physical activity from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth 1979 cohort, 2006 wave, where time preference is proxied by the expected share of money saved from a hypothetical $1000 cash prize. I find that time preference is a significant predictor of the amount of time spent participating in both vigorous and light-to-moderate physical activity for women and vigorous physical activity for men. The results are robust to various sample restrictions and alternative measures of time preference. The findings in this paper fill in a gap in the relationship between time preference and body composition by examining one of the pathways through which the former might affect the latter using a large, nationally representative dataset.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. It is also not clear whether the instruments employed in the two stage residual inclusion estimation are exogenous since the paper does not provide any test statistics for the instruments.

  2. The estimates presented in the paper are for models including one-digit occupation indicators; however results are very similar when using 3-digit occupation indicators.

  3. Restricting the sample to individuals who averaged at least 20 h of work per week yields a slight increase in the magnitude of the estimated relationship between time preference and physical activity.

  4. The variable is excluded from the main results since it was collected in the year when the respondent turned 40, rather than in 2006. For an individual who was 48 in 2006, the health variable would have been collected in 1998. The results including the general health variable are available upon request.

References

  • Adams, J., & Nettle, D. (2009). Time perspective, personality and smoking, body mass, and physical activity: An empirical study. British Journal of Health Psychology, 14(1), 83–105.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Andersen, S., Harrison, G. W., Lau, M. I., & Rutström, E. E. (2008). Eliciting risk and time preferences. Econometrica, 76(3), 583–618.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, L. R., & Mellor, J. M. (2008). Predicting health behaviors with an experimental measure of risk preference. Journal of Health Economics, 27(5), 1260–1274.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Anokye, N. K., Pokhrel, S., Buston, M., & Fox-Rushby, J. (2012). The demand for sports and physical activity: Results from an illustrative survey. European Journal of Health Economics, 13, 277–287.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Averett, S., & Korenman, S. (1996). The economic reality of the beauty myth. Journal of Human Resources, 31(2), 304–330.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barsky, R. B., Juster, F. T., Kimball, M. S., & Shapiro, M. D. (1997). Preference parameters and behavioral heterogeneity: An experimental approach in the health and retirement study. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 112, 537–579.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baum, C. L., & Ford, W. F. (2004). The wage effects of obesity: A longitudinal study. Health Economics, 13, 885–899.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Becker, G. S., & Mulligan, C. B. (1997). The endogenous determination of time preference. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 112, 729–758.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borghans, Lex, & Golsteyn, B. H. H. (2006). Time discounting and the body mass index: Evidence from the Netherlands. Economics & Human Biology, 4.1, 39–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Booij, A. S., & Van Praag, B. M. (2009). A simultaneous approach to the estimation of risk aversion and the subjective time discount rate. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 70(1), 374–388.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradford, W. D. (2010). The association between individual time preferences and health maintenance habits. Medical Decision Making, 30(1), 99–112.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Breuer, C., & Wicker, P. (2009). Decreasing sports activity with increasing age? Findings from a 20-year longitudinal and cohort sequence analysis. Research Quarterly for Physical Activity and Sport, 80(1), 22–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, H., & Pol, M. (2014). The role of time preferences in the intergenerational transfer of smoking. Health Economics, 23(12), 1493–1501.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cawley, J. (2004a). An economic framework for understanding physical activity and eating behaviors. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 27(3), 117–125.

  • Cawley, J. (2004b). The impact of obesity on wages. The Journal of Human Resources, 39(2), 451–474.

  • Cawley, J. (2008). Contingent valuation analysis of willingness to pay to reduce childhood obesity. Economics & Human Biology, 6(2), 281–292.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cawley, J., & Liu, F. (2012). Maternal employment and childhood obesity: A search for mechanisms in time use data. Economics & Human Biology, 10(4), 352–364.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cawley, J., & Meyerhoefer, C. (2012). The medical care costs of obesity: An instrumental variables approach. Journal of Health Economics, 31(1), 219–230.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cawley, J., Meyerhoefer, C., & Newhouse, D. (2007). The correlation of youth physical activity with state policies. Contemporary Economic Policy, 25(4), 506–517.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011). Healthy people 2010: Final review. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hpdata2010/hp2010_final_review.pdf.

  • Chabris, C. F., Laibson, D., Morris, C. L., Schuldt, J. P., & Taubinsky, D. (2008). Individual laboratory-measured discount rates predict field behavior. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 37(2–3), 237–269.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chesson, H. W., Leichliter, J. S., Zimet, G. D., Rosenthal, S. L., Bernstein, D. I., & Fife, K. H. (2006). Discount rates and risky sexual behaviors among teenagers and young adults. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 32(3), 217–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chou, S.-Y., Grossman, M., & Saffer, H. (2004). An economic analysis of adult obesity: Results from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Journal of Health Economics, 23, 565–587.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Daugherty, J. R., & Brase, G. L. (2010). Taking time to be healthy: Predicting health behaviors with delay discounting and time perspective. Personality and Individual Differences, 48(2), 202–207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Downward, P., & Riordan, J. (2007). Social interactions and the demand for sport: An economic analysis. Contemporary Economic Policy, 25(4), 518–537.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duquette, E., Higgins, N., & Horowitz, J. (2014). Inferring discount rates from time-preference experiments. Economics Letters, 123(2), 212–215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eberth, B., & Smith, M. D. (2010). Modelling the participation decision and duration of sporting activity in Scotland. Economic Modelling, 27, 822–834.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Eisenberg, D., & Okeke, E. (2009). Too cold for a jog? Weather, physical activity, and socioeconomic status. The BE Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 9(1), 1–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Etnier, J. L., Salazar, W., Landers, D. M., Petruzzello, S. J., Han, M., & Nowell, P. (1997). The influence of physical fitness and physical activity upon cognitive functioning: A meta-analysis. Journal of Sport & Physical Activity Psychology, 19, 249–277.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrell, L., & Shields, M. A. (2002). Investigating the economic and demographic determinants of sporting participation in England. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A (Statistics in Society), 165(2), 335–348.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fields, S., Sabet, M., Peal, A., & Reynolds, B. (2011). Relationship between weight status and delay discounting in a sample of adolescent cigarette smokers. Behavioural Pharmacology, 22(3), 266.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Folkins, C. H., & Sime, W. E. (1981). Physical fitness training and mental health. American Psychologist, 36(4), 373–389.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Frederick, S., Loewenstein, G., & O’donoghue, T. (2002). Time discounting and time preference: A critical review. Journal of Economic Literature, 40, 351–401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galizzi, M. M. (2014). What is really behavioral in behavioral health policy? And does it work? Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, 36(1), 25–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galizzi, M.M., & Miraldo, M. (2012). Are you what you eat? Experimental evidence on health habits and risk preferences. Discussion Paper No. 2012/04, Healthcare Management Group, Imperial College Business School.

  • Garza, K. B., Harris, C. V., & Bolding, M. S. (2013). Examination of value of the future and health beliefs to explain dietary and physical activity behaviors. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, 9(6), 851–862.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Guthrie, L. C., Butler, S. C., Lessl, K., Ochi, O., & Ward, M. M. (2014). Time perspective and exercise, obesity, and smoking: Moderation of associations by age. American Journal of Health Promotion, 29(1), 9–16.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Guthrie, L. C., Lessl, K., Ochi, O., & Ward, M. M. (2013). Time perspective and smoking, obesity, and exercise in a community sample. American Journal of Health Behavior, 37(2), 171.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Guven, C. (2012). Reversing the equation: Does happiness affect consumption and savings behavior? Journal of Economic Psychology, 33, 701–717.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harrison, G. W., Lau, M., & Rutstrom, E. E. (2010). Individual discount rates and smoking: Evidence from a field experiment in Denmark. Journal of Health Economics, 29(5), 708–717.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hillman, C. H., Erickson, K. I., & Kramer, A. F. (2008). Be smart, physical activity your heart: Physical activity effects on brain and cognition. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 9(1), 58–65.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hoerger, M., Quirk, S. W., & Weed, N. C. (2011). Development and validation of the delaying gratification inventory. Psychological Assessment, 23(3), 725–738.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Humphreys, B. R., & Ruseski, J. E. (2011). An economic analysis of participation and time spent in physical activity. The BE Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 11(1).

  • Humphreys, B. R., & Ruseski, J. E. (2007). Participation in physical activity and government spending on parks and recreation. Contemporary Economic Policy, 25(4), 538–552.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ifcher, J., & Zarghamee, H. (2011). Happiness and time preference: The effect of positive affect in a random-assignment experiment. American Economic Review, 101, 3109–3129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Joireman, J., Shaffer, M. J., Balliet, D., & Strathman, A. (2012). Promotion orientation explains why future-oriented people exercise and eat healthy evidence from the two-factor consideration of future consequences-14 scale. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 38(10), 1272–1287.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kahana, E., Kahana, B., & Zhang, J. (2005). Motivational antecedents of preventive proactivity in late life: Linking future orientation and exercise. Motivation and Emotion, 29(4), 438–459.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Khwaja, A., Silverman, D., & Sloan, F. (2007). Time preference, time discounting, and smoking decisions. Journal of Health Economics, 26(5), 927–949.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kobiella, A., Ripke, S., Kroemer, N. B., Vollmert, C., Vollstädt-Klein, S., Ulshöfer, D. E., et al. (2014). Acute and chronic nicotine effects on behaviour and brain activation during intertemporal decision making. Addiction Biology, 19(5), 918–930.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Komlos, J., Smith, P. K., & Bogin, B. (2004). Obesity and the rate of time preference: Is there a connection? Journal of Biosocial Science, 36(02), 209–219.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kosteas, V. D. (2012). The effect of physical activity on earnings: Evidence from the NLSY. Journal of Labor Research, 33, 225–250.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lakdawalla, D., & Philipson, T. (2009). The growth of obesity and technological change. Economics & Human Biology, 7(3), 283–293.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lechner, M. (2009). Long-run labour market and health effects of individual sports activities. Journal of Health Economics, 28(4), 839–854.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Luszczynska, A., Gibbons, F. X., Piko, B. F., & Tekozel, M. (2004). Self-regulatory cognitions, social comparison, and perceived peers’ behaviors as predictors of nutrition and physical activity: A comparison among adolescents in Hungary, Poland, Turkey, and USA. Psychology & Health, 19(5), 577–593.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maruyama, S., & Yin, Q. (2012). The opportunity cost of physical activity: Do higher-earning Australians physical activity longer, harder, or both? Health Policy, 106, 187–194.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McInnes, M. M., & Shinogle, J. A. (2011). Physical activity: Economic and policy factors. In Economic aspects of obesity (pp. 249–282). University of Chicago Press.

  • McKerchar, T. L., & Renee Renda, C. (2012). Delay and probability discounting in humans: An overview. The Psychological Record, 62, 817–834.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meltzer, D. O., & Jena, A. B. (2010). The economics of intense physical activity. Journal of Health Economics, 29, 347–352.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mullahy, J., & Robert, S. A. (2010). No time to lose: Time constraints and physical activity in the production of health. Review of Economics of the Household, 8(4), 409–432.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Puetz, T. W. (2006). Physical activity and feelings of energy and fatigue. Sports Medicine, 36(9), 767–780.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds, B. (2004). Do high rates of cigarette consumption increase delay discounting? A cross-sectional comparison of adult smokers and young-adult smokers and nonsmokers. Behavioural Processes, 67, 545–549.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Richards, T. J., & Hamilton, S. F. (2012). Obesity and hyperbolic discounting: An experimental analysis. Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 37(2), 181.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robins, R. W., Hendin, H. M., & Trzesniewski, K. H. (2001). Measuring global self-esteem: Construct validation of a single-item measure and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27(2), 151–161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, P. K., Bogin, B., & Bishai, D. (2005). Are time preference and body mass index associated? Evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Economics and Human Biology, 3, 259–270.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Spence, J. C., McGannon, K. R., & Poon, P. (2005). The effect of physical activity on global self-esteem: A quantitative review. Journal of Sport & Physical Activity Psychology, 27, 33–334.

    Google Scholar 

  • Szrek, H., Chao, L., Ramlagan, S., & Peltzer, K. (2012). Predicting (un)healthy behavior: A comparison of risk-taking propensity measures. Journal of Decision Making, 7(6), 716–727.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tomporowski, P. D. (2003). Effects of acute bouts of physical activity on cognition. Acta Psychologica, 112, 296–324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Beek, J., Antonides, G., & Handgraaf, M. J. (2013). Eat now, exercise later: The relation between consideration of immediate and future consequences and healthy behavior. Personality and Individual Differences, 54(6), 785–791.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, L. E. I., & Rashad, I. (2008). Obesity and time preference: The health consequences of discounting the future. Journal of Biosocial Science, 40(01), 97–113.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cleveland State University, 2121 Euclid Avenue, RT 1707, Cleveland, OH, 44115-2214, USA

    Vasilios D. Kosteas

Authors
  1. Vasilios D. Kosteas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vasilios D. Kosteas.

Appendix

Appendix

See Tables 10 and 11.

Table 10 Exercise determinants for men
Full size table
Table 11 Exercise determinants for women
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kosteas, V.D. Physical activity and time preference. Int J Health Econ Manag. 15, 361–386 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10754-015-9173-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10754-015-9173-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation