WORK OR WORKOUT? A COMPARISON OF OCCUPATIONAL AND RECREATIONAL PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN RELATION TO HEALTH

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine and compare the health benefits derived from recreational exercise and work-related physical labour. The research adopts a secondary data analysis approach, using data obtained from the "2002 Taiwan National Health Promotion Knowledge, Attitude, and Behaviour Survey" conducted by the Health Promotion Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare. The survey targeted Taiwanese citizens aged 15 and above across all counties and cities, with a total sample size of 26,755 respondents. The dataset includes information on daily lifestyle behaviours, exercise habits, occupational activities, self-rated health, and depression scale scores. Data analysis was performed using SPSS for Windows, version 12.0.

The results reveal that the average age of participants in the recreational exercise group was 32.94 years (SD = 19.30), while that of the work-related physical labour group was 54.67 years (SD = 12.93). After excluding individuals who smoke, drink alcohol, or chew betel nuts, no significant difference in depression levels was observed between the two groups. One-way ANOVA controlling for age indicated that, compared with the work-related physical labour group, the recreational exercise group reported a higher incidence of age-related health problems such as hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, asthma, kidney disease, and osteoporosis. However, no significant difference was found between the two groups in self-perceived health status.