Doctoral Dissertation Research: Physical Activity and Aging in the US

University Of Colorado At Boulder, Boulder CO

Investigators

Abstract

This dissertation uses Health and Retirement Study data to investigate the role of exercise in explaining racial and gender disparities in health among older Americans. Exercise can be regarded as a type of investment that people make in their own health. These health investments are hypothesized to be affected by the other kinds of capital that people possess: economic, social, and cultural. Multiple dimensions of each of these forms of capital will be tested for their relationships with exercise. Racial/ethnic and gender differences in exercise may be explained in part by varying levels of social, economic, and cultural capital.