Comparison of Life Satisfaction between physical activity levels according to age in Luxembourg: Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey 2022

Background: Life satisfaction is a major component of adolescents’ subjective well-being. Physical activity (PA) is associated with the improvement of physical, cognitive, and mental health. Objective: This study aimed to analyse adolescents’ life satisfaction (LS) and levels of PA across age in adolescents from Luxembourg. Method: A representative sample of 7089 adolescents (11-to-18-years-old) took part in the Health Behavior in School Aged Children (HBSC) Luxembourg 2022 survey. LS was measured using Cantril Ladder, levels of PA were determined according to the time spend on and frequency of moderate-vigorous and vigorous PA and classified into: Highly active, Active, Low active and Not active. A two-way ANOVA was performed to analyse differences in the LS mean for PA and age groups. Results: All 11-12y have a better LS than the other age groups in all PA groups (p<0.01). However, Highly Active pupils reported better LS than those Not active, Low Active and Active, in all age groups (p<0.01). Low Active (mean=7.26, CI95%7.10-7.43; mean=6.93 CI95%6.78-7.10) reported worse LS than those who were Active in the 13-14y (mean=7.55, CI95%7.44-7.66; p=0.02) and 15-16y (mean=7.29 CI95%7.18-7.40; p<0.01). Conclusion: PA is a factor associated with better LS in adolescents in Luxembourg in all ages. Furthermore, the study showed that although Highly Active pupils have a higher life satisfaction, being physically active is better than Not being active. This study reinforces the importance of PA to maintain a higher life satisfaction through adolescence in Luxembourg.