Do risk and time preferences predict physical activity?

Research using this dataset is published in Psychology of Sport and Exercise. The research investigated the links between risk and time preferences and whether or not the minimum recommended physical activity thresholds are met by respondents in a survey of South African students. We used an incentivised experiment, and a maximum likelihood model to jointly estimate risk and time preferences, and the role these play in explaining self-reported physical activity. Physically inactive people discounted the future significantly more than physically active people did. Physically active people also made slightly more risky choices in our risk attitude task, although this directional relationship was not statistically significant.