The Influence of Health, Marriage and Cohabitation on Physical Inactivity: Evidence from SHARE for 12 European Countries

Physical inactivity is a potential cost driver for health insurance as it may trigger undesirable health effects. In this study, the influence of health, marriage and cohabitation on physical inactivity is explored by means of fixed-effects logistic panel, random-effects logistic panel, and pooled logistic estimators. All three rely on data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) of 42,379 respondents aged 50 to 89 years old in 2015 from 12 European countries for the period 2015 to 2022. The analysis supports the positive influence of education and partnership on physical inactivity, as well as the negative one of ageing, illness, unemployment, limitations, and depression. In particular for partnership, the potentially positive influence on physical inactivity of being back single when higher depressed is surprising. Additionally, employed respondents relate to higher odds of reporting physical inactivity relative to retired respondents, suggesting that physical labour may be limited in their jobs. Lastly, Swedes, Danes, and Swiss relate to the lowest physical inactivity levels, and Italians to the highest. In conclusion, this study supports the importance of health and partnership for physical inactivity.