Health Effect of Sports Consumption in Aging SocietyEmpirical Evidence from Nationwide Consumption Big Data

Based on the theory of health capital demand, the sports consumption is regard as a kind of health investment, and the research hypothesis is put forward that the growth of individual sports consumption can reduce the expenditure of their medical consumption. The health effect of individual sports consumption is empirically tested using the 2018-2021 consumption big data. It is showed that for every 1-unit increase in the proportion of sports consumption to an individual's total annual consumption, the proportion of medical consumption to an individual's total annual consumption decreases by 0.203 units. The health effect of the Epidemic on sports consumption was dampened but still significant. The further analysis indicates that the health effects of sports consumption significantly enhance as age increases, particularly for the population aged 35 and above, with the most pronounced effects observed in the elderly population aged 65 and above. It is suggested that, in the face of major challenges such as an aging population and increasing healthcare burdens, it is necessary to accelerate the awareness of the health benefits of sports consumption, and vigorously promote sports consumption among the entire population.