Does Participating in Physical Exercise Make Chinese Residents Happier?—Empirical Research Based on 2018 Chinese General Social Survey

Participating in physical exercise to improve fitness, as well as experience the social and economic functions of sport, can help individuals improve their subjective well-being. The ordinary least squares (OLS) regression model was used to empirically study the impact of the frequency and intensity of physical exercise on Chinese residents’ subjective well-being and its mechanisms using data from the 2018 China General Social Survey (CGSS). The findings revealed that participating in physical exercise significantly increased Chinese residents’ subjective well-being; the impact of physical exercise on Chinese residents’ subjective well-being varied with age, marriage, political status, and so on, and participation in physical exercise improved in rural individuals, male individuals, and individuals from the eastern regions. Higher intensity physical exercise increases the likelihood of subjective well-being; urban individuals, female individuals, and individuals in the central and eastern regions have a higher probability of improving subjective well-being.