Sports may ease activity decline during teen years

By Joene Hendry

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Enrolling young teens in organized sports does not prevent a decline in physical activity during later teenage years, but it does seem to help them maintain some level of physical activity over time, study findings suggest.

Dr. Mathieu Belanger, at the Universite de Moncton in New Brunswick, Canada, and colleagues identified 1028 students who were physically active at age 12-13 years, and followed them periodically for the next 5 years.

Initially, 87 percent of the students were involved in any organized physical activity. Their level of physical activity was 42 percent higher than those who did not participate in organized activities.

During follow up, levels of physical activity declined by 8 percent every year in both groups -- but since those in organized activities started at a higher rate, they remained relatively more active than the others.

Young teens should be exposed to organized sports "because it will increase their odds of being physically active," Belanger suggested in comments to Reuters Health.

Early involvement in community physical activity was associated with 52 percent more sessions of physical activity each week over the study period, Belanger's group reports in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.

These findings suggest "the more active you are in early adolescence the more active you will be in later adolescence," Belanger said.

The students in this study most frequently reported being involved in soccer, basketball, volleyball, swimming, and hockey. Belanger and his colleagues will continue to map the popularity and sustainability of these and other physical activities among teenagers, to determine which activities teens are most likely to continue.

SOURCE: International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, April 2009