Original research
Is sport enough? Contribution of sport to overall moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity among adolescents

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2019.06.009Get rights and content

Abstract

Objectives

This study examined the contribution of sports participation to overall moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) among adolescents, and explored potential moderators.

Design

Cross-sectional observational study using survey and accelerometry data drawn from the NEighbourhood Activity in Youth (NEArbY) study.

Methods

Adolescents (n = 358) were recruited from secondary schools in Melbourne, Australia. Average min/day in MVPA was assessed using accelerometry. Participants self-reported sports participation (number of teams, type, frequency, and months of participation). Regression models determined the percent variance in MVPA explained by the sport variables, adjusted for wear time, age and sex, and accounting for clustering at the school level. Additional analyses tested if age, sex, body mass index (BMI), and socioeconomic status (SES) moderated relationships between sport variables and MVPA.

Results

Participants (mean 15.3 years, 59% female) spent a mean (SD) of 68.6 (27.4) min/day in MVPA and 50% reported participating in any sport. Those who participated in sport did so 3.4 times/week on average and accumulated 7 min/day of MVPA more than those who did no sport. For each additional sport participated in, on average, there were approximately 5 additional min/day of MVPA. The number and frequency of sports participation explained 3.2% and 3.8% of the variance in MVPA respectively. Participation in field hockey and gymnastics explained 2.2% and 3.6% of the variance in MVPA, respectively. There were no moderating effects.

Conclusions

Sport appears to make a very small contribution to adolescents’ average daily physical activity. Effectiveness of approaches to increasing youth population levels of physical activity via sports participation needs to be tested.

Section snippets

Practical implications

  • The number of sports and frequency of participation explained just 3.2% and 3.8%, respectively, of the variance in MVPA min/day.

  • Adolescents who participated in sport accumulated 7 min/day of MVPA more than those who did no sport. For each additional sport participated in, on average, there were approximately 5 additional min/day of MVPA.

  • There were no moderating effects of age, sex, BMI or SES on the contribution of sports participation to adolescent MVPA.

  • Targeting sports participation as a way

Methods

Data for the current study were drawn from the NEighbourhood Activity in Youth (NEArbY) study. Participants completed an online survey and were asked to wear an accelerometer. Ethical approval was received from the Deakin University Human Ethics Advisory Group (HEAG-H 152_2013), the Department of Education and Training (2013_002182) and the Catholic Education Office (Project ID #1950).

Schools from across Melbourne, Australia (n = 137) were selected from statistical areas of Melbourne that varied

Results

Valid accelerometry data were obtained from 380 adolescents, of which 358 also had valid survey data. Participants excluded were older (15.8 ± 1.6 versus 15.3 ± 1.5 years; p = 0.004) and on average had higher levels of MVPA (85.8 ± 90.9 versus 68.6 ± 27.4 min/day; p = 0.009). Excluded and non-excluded participants differed significantly in terms of sports participation (p < 0.0005). Of those adolescents excluded, only 29% participated in sport during the month the accelerometer was worn compared to 50% of

Discussion

Australian, and other governments, invest heavily into promoting sports participation as a strategy to increase population physical activity, yet there are surprisingly few studies that have examined the contribution of sports participation to overall physical activity among adolescents. Understanding this relationship is important for informing government policy and investment into initiatives to increase population physical activity. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate

Conclusion

This study found a minimal contribution of organised sports participation to overall MVPA among adolescents, irrespective of whether the number, intensity, frequency and type of sport was considered. Policies focused only on sport may have a minimal impact on population physical activity levels. National strategies to increase physical activity among youth may need to have a greater focus on active living, such as active transport policies and environmental infrastructure that is conducive to

Author contributions

HK led writing of the manuscript and conducted the analyses with GA. JS and AT conceptualised the study. All authors critically revised the manuscript for intellectual content, and read and approved the final draft.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank all participants and research staff involved in the NEArbY study. The NEArbY study was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 HL111378. AT was supported by a Future Leader Fellowship from the National Heart Foundation of Australia (Award 100046) during the NEArbY study. LA is supported by an Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellowship. KP is supported by a Deakin University Postgraduate Research Scholarship. The authors have no competing interests.

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