Original research
The influence of sport club participation on physical activity, fitness and body fat during childhood and adolescence: The LOOK Longitudinal Study

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Abstract

Objectives

To investigate the longitudinal effect of sport participation in physical activity, fitness and body fat changes during childhood and adolescence.

Design

Longitudinal study (134 boys, 155 girls) of Australian youth aged 8–16 years.

Methods

Physical activity was assessed by pedometers and accelerometers, fitness by the 20 m shuttle-run, body fat by DEXA and club sport participation by questionnaire. Linear mixed models were used to determine the effects of sport participation and gender differences.

Results

Sports club participants were more physically active at all age groups than non-participants; boys took an extra 1800 steps (p < 0.001) and girls 590 steps per day (p < 0.01) and boys engaged in an extra 9 min and girls 6 min more moderate to vigorous PA per day (both p < 0.05). Fitness was higher among sports participants (boys 27% and girls 20% higher, both p < 0.001) and sport participant girls had 2.9% less body fat (p < 0.05). Higher fitness scores were maintained over time by sports participants but their greater PA diminished during adolescence, this being more evident among girls. Only 20% of sports club participants met the recommended daily average of 60 min MVPA.

Conclusions

Sport participants were more active, fitter and had less body fat (girls only) than non-sports participants. However, the associated benefits of sport with PA diminished during adolescence and the majority of sports participants did not meet recommended levels of PA. Strategies aiming to maximise the benefits of sports participation may be enhanced by providing special attention to the early adolescent period particularly among girls.

Introduction

Sport participation was recently identified by the International Society for Physical Activity and Health as “an investment that works” to promote physical activity.1 In addition, a recent International Olympic Committee statement highlighted the important role of sport as a means to encourage behaviour change among youth to positively affect health.2

Given global appeal, sport seems an ideal vehicle to address reported low levels of physical activity (PA)3, 4 and high prevalence of obesity.5 In Australia, sports club participation may become an increasingly important source of PA among youth, as in the school setting there is a growing trend towards allocating teaching time to academic pursuits,6 which may be reducing time spent in physical education and sport in schools.

Cross-sectional studies indicate that youth sports club participants tend to have higher levels of PA7, 8 and cardio-respiratory fitness (CRF) compared to non-participants.7, 9 The role that sport plays in the prevention of overweight and obesity is somewhat clouded, with a recent review concluding that additional research is needed to understand how youth sport can help promote energy balance and healthy body weight.10 Even so, the high reported sports participation rates in Australia are encouraging, with two-thirds of children aged 9–11 years participating in organised sports outside of school hours.11

An important consideration is that sports club participation rates tend to decline from childhood.12 This decline emphasizes the need for longitudinal studies among youth to understand how sport impacts health over time. A longitudinal study of 7–12 year old British children13 found sports club participation was associated with higher levels of PA and reduced adiposity at 12 but not 9 years of age. This study suggested that sports club participation may become an increasingly significant source of PA over late childhood and early adolescence, however the authors commented that these findings need to be replicated in other populations to improve the evidence base.

The aim of the current study was to examine the effect of sports club participation on objectively measured PA, CRF measured by 20 m shuttle run; and body composition measured using dual emission X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Data were collected annually from 8 to 12 years of age and again at age 16 years. To our knowledge this is the first study to examine how longitudinal changes in objectively measured PA, CRF and DEXA measured adiposity are associated with sports club participation over the important developmental period from childhood to mid-adolescence.

We tested the following hypotheses: (1) that youth sports club participants will have higher levels of PA, less percent body fat (%BF) and will be fitter than non-participants, (2) that the benefits of PA, CRF and %BF associated with sports club participation will persist with increasing age from childhood to adolescence, and (3) that sports club participation assists youth to meet recommended PA guidelines.

We define sports participation as youth who were members of a sports club outside of the school setting. Membership in a sports club is the typical avenue for youth in Australia to take part in extracurricular sport. Clubs are most commonly not for profit organisations that are run by volunteers through a community group or association. We use the abbreviation (SPORT) for sports club participants and (non-SPORT) for non-sports club participants.

Section snippets

Methods

This study is part of the multidisciplinary Lifestyle of our Kids (LOOK) project.14 Grade 2 children attending government primary schools in Canberra, Australia were recruited from 29 schools and informed consent was received from parents for their child to participate from age 8 to 12 years. Both parental consent and child assent were obtained to participate in the study at 16 years. Participation was voluntary and participants could choose not to take part in any aspect of the study. The

Results

Participant characteristics are shown in Table 1. There was a 43% study attrition rate for girls and 47% for boys from age 8 to 16 years, with no significant differences between study drop-outs and those with complete data for gender, socio-economic status, sport participation (Chi square tests all p > 0.05), CRF, TPAI and %BF (T-tests all p > 0.05). There was however a difference in body weight between study dropouts (Mean = 29.2 kg, SD = 6.1) and non-dropouts (Mean = 28.2 kg, SD = 5.1) at the time of

Discussion

This study, strengthened by the longitudinal nature of yearly observations within the one cohort of boys and girls, provides support for the hypotheses that: SPORT participants are more active on a daily basis; spend more time engaged in MVPA; less time engaged in sedentary activity and; have better CRF than non-SPORT participants. In addition girls belonging to sports clubs were found to have lower %BF. While higher CRF levels were maintained with increasing age among SPORT participants, of

Conclusion

Australian youth taking part in club sports are more active, fitter and have less body fat than non-participants. While high participation rates indicate the potential of the sports club as a health promoting setting, the majority of sports participants did not meet recommended levels of PA. Of concern was the diminished effect of sports participation on PA levels during adolescence, especially in girls. Strategies aiming to maximise the benefits associated with sport participation are required

Practical implications

  • Participation in sport conveys lasting benefits that are considered attributes of a healthy lifestyle.

  • Girls participating in sports were less likely to participate as actively as boys. Coaches, parents and teachers should direct more attention to sports training and game strategies that promote greater involvement for girls.

  • Greater support for sport inside and outside of school hours could enable more children to meet recommended daily amounts of physical activity.

Acknowledgments

Financial support for this research was provided by the Commonwealth Education Trust and ACT Government Health Directorate. We would like to thank the school principals, teachers, office staff, parents and participants for their willing cooperation.

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