We contribute to the happiness literature by analyzing the causal relationship between sports and happiness. Using longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP), we find a positive correlation between sports participation and reported life satisfaction. This relationship is stronger at younger and older ages than in middle age, and for people in bad health compared to those in average health. We further provide evidence for both causal directions. It turns out that the causal impact of engaging in sports on happiness is about four times higher than the effect of happiness on engaging in sports.

中文翻译：

---

运动会使人更快乐，还是快乐的人能进行更多的运动？

通过分析运动与幸福之间的因果关系，我们为幸福文学做出了贡献。使用来自德国社会经济专家组（GSOEP）的纵向数据，我们发现体育参与与所报告的生活满意度之间呈正相关。与中年人相比，这种关系在年轻人和老年人中更强，并且健康状况较差的人与平均健康状况的人相比。我们进一步提供了两个因果关系的证据。事实证明，从事体育运动对幸福的因果影响大约是幸福对体育运动影响的四倍。