Zdravý životní styl: Možná cesta ke zvýšení příjmů?

Abstract

The Czech Republic is often mentioned in discussions about countries with high prevalence of obesity, which, along with cancer or cardiovascular diseases, belongs to the group of so-called lifestyle diseases, the cause of which can include poor lifestyle choices. The occurrence of obesity in our country is indeed above average; in 2016, 28,5 % of the adult population was obese, while the European average at the same time was 25,3 % (Our World in Data, 2017). This study, therefore, focuses on lifestyle, specifically on habits and investments in health. The aim of the study was to determine whether workers who take care of their lifestyle and invest in their health are also more productive in their work, and whether as a result, they receive higher wages than their colleagues who do not care about their health and lifestyle in the described way. This assumption is based, among other things, on existing empirical literature on this topic, such as Tovar-Garcia (2021). For the purposes of this study, we used the results of an online survey from 2022, in which a representative sample of the Czech population aged 25-54 participated. Through a series of OLS models, with the main variable being the frequency of sports, exercise, or other physical activities, we found a statistically significant positive relationship between the level of income and engaging in sports 1-4 times a week. Examining the behavior of respondents, we observed, for example, a less frequent occurrence of harmful habits, such as smoking and alcohol consumption, among women. On the other hand, among men, we recorded a higher frequence of doing sports or exercising.