Park runs boost life satisfaction and save money by improving well-being

New research shows that park runs not only increase physical activity and life satisfaction, particularly among the least active, but also offer cost-effective public health benefits, making them more impactful than traditional interventions.

In a recent study published in PLoS Global Public Health, researchers examined the effectiveness of park runs in reducing physical inactivity and explored the cost-effectiveness of this initiative.

What is a park run?

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a park run is a physical activity intervention that can potentially improve life satisfaction. It refers to a community event that provides free and inclusive access to enjoyable physical activity experiences. The WHO specifically recommends park runs as part of its Global Action Plan on Physical Activity to increase physical activity at the population level.

Park runs, which have been operating for more than two decades, are often weekly and timed run or walk events for five kilometers. They can involve hundreds of thousands of people worldwide.

Park run participants report increased physical and mental health, improved lifestyle, a sense of achievement, and increased social connections. These benefits, which are particularly evident among individuals who were the least active previously or have poor mental health, have been reported to be sustained for up to one year following participation in a park run.

Unweighted demographics of the sample compared to the 2019 parkrun population: (a) gender; (b) age; (c) index of multiple deprivation quartile of home postcode; (d) activity at registration in days per week over the last four weeks; and (e) number of parkruns completed by 6 months. The sample was weighted to match the 2019 park run population, adjusting for differences in age, activity levels, and other demographics.

Thus, park runs may serve as a mass intervention to improve physical activity and social welfare. However, their cost-effectiveness remains under investigation, and the current study adds to our understanding of their economic value.

Cost-effectiveness should be determined by considering both economic and subjective parameters, the latter of which can include happiness and feelings of well-being. The happiness index, for example, measures happiness based on life evaluation, good feelings, and negative feelings. Additionally, the happiness index advocates using life satisfaction as a measure of economic well-being.

Cost-effectiveness is measured by the wellbeing-adjusted life year (WELLBY), which is used by the World Happiness Report and WHO. WELLBY is equivalent to a one-point change in life satisfaction for each person yearly, with an estimated value of £13,000.

About the study

The current study included 548 park runners newly registered for the activity. These individuals were asked about their life satisfaction at baseline and after six months.

The added value of park runs was estimated using three methods: either the proportion of park runs to total activity, calculating the individual perception of park runs across 16 measures, or combining both methods equally.

After six months, the seasonally adjusted life satisfaction was estimated. Outcome measures were then weighted to compensate for differences in the distributions of mean age and frequency of park runs between the surveyed sample and the full 2019 park run population.

Effects of park run

The study participants reported a mean of 3.1-3.4 days of physical activity every week. Activity level did not change over six months, but life satisfaction significantly increased from an average of 7.489 to 7.746.

The most significant change in satisfaction and added value was observed among the least active at baseline. The total weighted number of park runs was higher among the least active individuals than among the most active individuals.

The change in WELLBYs was 0.26, with a total of 51,341 WELLBYs reported for six months. In six months, the estimated value of improved life satisfaction for the 400,167 participants was £667.4 million.

The six-month activity and impact benefits of park runs reached 3,101 and 17,407 WELLBYs, respectively, whereas the combined method estimated a value of 10,544 WELLBYs. Economically, these benefits are valued at £40.3, £226.3, and £137.1 million, respectively.

Cost-effectiveness

As compared to the cost of a park run in 2019, the added value of a park run made this measure more cost-effective than other population-level interventions targeting physical activity.

The benefit-to-cost ratio for added value from park run to total activity was 16.7:1, as compared to 98.5:1 for impact of park run and 59.3:1 for combined methods. Thus, the ratio significantly outperformed the benefit-cost analysis ratios of other interventions by up to 16.7 times.

How it works Increased life satisfaction among parkrunners was primarily attributed to increased physical activity, which was accompanied by improved mental well-being. However, the study found that physical health was the main mediator between activity and life satisfaction, while mental health only played a role when combined with physical health. Overall, parkruns contributed 21.7% of the total increase in life satisfaction.

The success of parkruns also lies in their structure—they are community events with fixed timing and location, which offer affordability to the participant and foster social connections.

Conclusions

Significant improvements in life satisfaction were observed among new park run participants, particularly among those with the lowest baseline physical activity levels. However, despite these gains, life satisfaction for this subgroup remained below the UK average.

Parkrun is 2.8 to 16.7 times more effective than any other population-level measure for physical activity. Thus, this initiative could provide up to £266.3 million of economic benefits for park run participants within six months.

Additional research is needed to explore the long-term sustainability of these increases in life satisfaction and identify other factors that may contribute to these improvements.

Journal reference:

• Haake, S., Quirk, H., and Bullas, A. (2024). The impact of parkrun on life satisfaction and its cost-effectiveness: A six-month study of parkrunners in the United Kingdom. PLOS Global Public Health. doi:10.1371/journal.pgph.0003580.