Examining alternatives for assessing the effect of exercise on health-related consumption decisions: a questionnaire survey

The current study explores the "exercise effect" on large groups of people via a survey-oriented method of epidemiology. Our sampling method started with 312 students at the China University of Mining and Technology. The participants were divided into a low-level physical activity group (n=156) and a high-level physical activity group (n=156). To test the reliability of the questionnaire by using different scoring models, we applied the concordance correlation coefficient (CCC). Compared with less physically active people, more physically active people presented less general risk perceptions and more health-conscious purchasing behavior (risk perception: P = 0.018; purchasing behavior: P < 0.001). Additionally, the results were consistent when the stringent scoring criterion was used (risk perception: P = 0.041; purchasing behavior: P < 0.001). The results at the dimension level revealed significant differences between groups in terms of perceived susceptibility (P = 0.018), perceived severity (P = 0.031), health-related worry (P = 0.022), preventive purchase intention (P < 0.001), health-related product preferences (P = 0.004), and health-related long-term investment in consumption (P = 0.009). The results indicate that questionnaire-based methods substitute for complex methods, concerning the effect of exercise on the perception of risk and the purchase of health-related products.