The purpose of the present study was to determine the association between health-related physical fitness (HRPF) performance and perceived happiness status among adults in Taiwan. A cross-sectional study was conducted, and data derived from the National Physical Fitness Survey in Taiwan 2014–2015 were reviewed. The participants included 27,930 men and 30,885 women, aged 23 to 64 years. Each participant completed a standardized, structured questionnaire and underwent anthropometric variable and HRPF measurements. The happiness outcome of an individual was obtained using the questionnaire, and the results were stratified into happy (very happy, quite happy, and fair) and unhappy (unhappy and not at all happy) groups for perceived happiness status. HRPF measurements were evaluated using cardiorespiratory endurance (3 min step test), muscle strength and endurance (1 min sit-up test), flexibility (sit-and-reach test), and body composition (body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio). To determine the existence of a dose–response relationship between HRPF component levels and happiness status, four quartiles of HRPF components were analyzed using multiple logistic regression models. Multiple logistic regression results indicated that with the worst performance level of HRPF components as a baseline, significant associations were observed for the sit-and-reach test (third level: OR = 1.24, 95% CI: 1.02–1.49) and BMI (second level: OR = 0.78, 95% CI: 0.64–0.95) among men. For women, significant associations were observed for the 1 min sit-up test (second level: OR = 1.28, 95% CI: 1.03–1.60; third level: OR = 1.32, 95% CI: 1.04–1.67; fourth (the best) level: OR = 1.48, 95% CI: 1.12–1.95) and BMI (third level: OR = 0.73, 95% CI: 0.58–0.92). The current study suggested that higher values in flexibility and body composition, happiness-related factors, potentially improve the occurrence of happiness among men. Moreover, this positive effect of higher values of muscle strength, endurance, and BMI was observed for the occurrence of happiness in women. However, the relevant mechanism underlying this phenomenon must be further explored.

A previous study provided reference data on the age and gender distribution of anthropometric parameters in Taiwanese adults. However, there are very few large-scale analyses of anthropometric data of older adults in Taiwan. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to describe gender- and age-specific distributions of anthropometric measurements and anthropometry assessments of Taiwanese older adults. This was a cross-sectional study conducted on 22,389 adults aged 65 years or older (8017 males and 14,372 females) who participated in Taiwan’s National Physical Fitness Survey 2014–2015. All participants were recruited using stratified convenience sampling from 46 physical fitness test stations in 22 cities or counties in Taiwan. The anthropometric measurements and anthropometry assessments included in the present study were the assessments of height, weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). The results showed statistically significant differences in weight, height, WC, and WHR across all age groups among both male and female individuals aged 65 years and older in Taiwan. However, there was no significant difference in BMI and HC between males and females in all age groups. Anthropometric status provides an initial assessment of the overall health of the population. This study uses a representative population of Taiwanese older adults over the age of 65 for analysis and provides detailed information on anthropometric data distribution.