Peer effects of health behaviors and the moderating role of Internet use among middle-aged and older adults: a nationally representative cross-sectional survey in China.

Objective: This study investigates peer effects on the health behaviors of middle-aged and older adult people in China and examines the moderating role of Internet use.

Methods: A total of 16,188 respondents were selected from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) 2020 data set. Ordinary Least Squares and Quantile Regression were used to validate the peer effect of health behaviors on middle-aged and older adults, and a moderating effects model was used to test the moderating roles of Internet use and Internet proficiency.