{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,17]],"date-time":"2026-09-17T05:05:03Z","timestamp":1789621503341,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,17]],"date-time":"2026-09-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789603200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Population aging has made healthy aging a key public health priority. This study examined the association between sport participation and healthy aging among older adults and explored its social ecological mechanisms.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Data from 6,482 adults aged 60 years and above were analyzed. Healthy aging was measured using a multidimensional index covering physical, psychological, cognitive, social and functional domains. Multivariable regression, mediation analysis, moderation analysis, subgroup analysis and robustness checks were conducted.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Sport participation was positively associated with healthy aging after adjustment for demographic, socioeconomic, health-related and ecological factors. The association showed a dose-response pattern and was partly mediated by physical function, psychological resources, social support and community activity environment. Community resources strengthened this association, while stronger effects were observed among rural, low-income, less educated, older-old and living-alone groups.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The results suggest that sport participation is closely related to healthy aging through individual and social ecological pathways. Age-friendly sport environments and targeted community support may help promote healthy aging among vulnerable older adults.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1890213","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,17]],"date-time":"2026-09-17T04:48:57Z","timestamp":1789620537000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Sport participation and healthy aging among older adults: a social ecological analysis of individual, contextual, and policy mechanisms"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Lide","family":"Su","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Physical Education, Hunan Normal University","place":["Changsha, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"family":"Agudamu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Graduate School of Social Welfare, Sungkyunkwan University","place":["Seoul, Republic of 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