Attending Live Sport Improves Well-Being

The research is the first to show significant benefits for a large adult population.

New scientific evidence shows that attending live sporting events increases well-being and reduces feelings of isolation. As the first large-scale study of its kind, this research was published in the journal frontiers in public healthexplores the benefits of attending live sporting events of any kind.

The study, conducted by researchers from Anglia Ruskin University’s School of Psychology and Sport Science, used data from 7,209 adults aged 16 to 85 living in England who took part in the Taking Part Survey commissioned by the UK Government’s Department for Digital was given , culture, media and sport.

Attendance at live sporting events was found to result in higher scores on two key measures of subjective well-being—life satisfaction and feeling “life is worthwhile”—as well as lower levels of loneliness.

These findings are significant because previous studies have shown that higher life satisfaction scores are associated with fewer life-limiting illnesses and better physical health, successful aging, and lower mortality rates.

The new study also found that attending live sporting events makes people feel that “life is worthwhile” and the magnitude of this increase is comparable to that of employment.

Many initiatives are currently promoting the benefits of physical participation in sport, but researchers believe watching live sporting events may also be an accessible and effective public health tool to improve well-being and reduce loneliness.

Lead Author Dr. Helen Keyes, Head of the Department of Psychology and Sport Science at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), said: “Previous research has focused on specific sports or small populations, such as college students in the United States. Our study is the first to examine the benefits of attending a sporting event for an adult population. Therefore, our results could be useful for designing future public health strategies, such as providing discounted admission prices for certain groups.

“Live events covered in the survey ranged from free amateur events, such as From watching village sports teams to Premier League football matches. Therefore, more research needs to be done to find out whether these benefits are more pronounced in elite sport or are more related to supporting a particular team.

“However, we know that watching live sports of all kinds offers many opportunities for social interaction and this helps to strengthen group identity and belonging, which in turn alleviates loneliness and increases well-being.”

Reference: “Live Sport Attendance Predicts Subjective Well-Being and Reduces Loneliness” by Helen Keyes, Sarah Gradidge, Nicola Gibson, Annelie Harvey, Shyanne Roeloffs, Magdalena Zawisza, and Suzanna Forwood, January 4, 2023 frontiers in public health.
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.989706