The aim of this study was to explore the influence of sport participation during free time upon the perceived health and happiness of a large sample of Taiwanese citizens, using secondary data from the Taiwan Social Development Trend Survey conducted in 2004. Time spent in sport participation, perceived health and perceived data were analyzed using t-tests, correlations, one-way ANOVA and regression analysis. The results indicate that sport participation time (SPT), perceived health and perceived happiness are differently correlated for groups at six life stages. The relationship between sport participation time and happiness is stronger than that between SPT and health. In the six life stages, the relationship between sport participation and happiness is more positive for the ‘young’ and ‘elderly’ groups than for the ‘middle-aged’.
