• 한국노년학
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.1125-1139
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• 2016

The current study examines whether retirement changes health behaviors and how the effect differs by reasons for retirement. This study conducts fixed-effects logistic regression analyses, using data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA) over the period 2006 through 2014. Results indicates that retirees are more likely to participate in regular exercise compared to their employed counterparts. Retirement is positively associated with participation in regular exercise regardless of reasons for retirement. The odds of being engaged in smoking among retirees are 50% less relative to those for employees. However, analyses by reasons for retirement reveal that only participants who retired for health problems or reaching retirement age are less likely to smoke cigarettes compared to employed participants. Retirees show significantly lower odds in drinking compared to employees. Yet, further analyses present that only individuals who retired due to health problems are less likely to drink alcohol. Overall, these results suggest that retirement may provide opportunities for positive changes in health behaviors. The present study imply that individuals who retired due to health problems benefits most from retirement in terms of health behaviors compared to retirees who retired for other reasons.