Number of years of participation in some, but not all, types of physical activity during adolescence predicts level of physical activity in adulthood: Results from a 13-year study

Abstract

BackgroundAdolescent physical activity (PA) levels track into adulthood. However it is not known if type of PA participated in during adolescence is associated with PA levels later in life. We aimed to identify natural groupings of types of PA and to assess whether number of years participating in these different groupings during adolescence is related to PA level in early adulthood.Methods673 adolescents in Montreal, Canada, age 12–13 years at baseline (54 % female), reported participation in 29 physical activities every 3 months over 5 years (1999–2005). They also reported their PA level at age 24 years (2011–12). PA groupings among the 29 physical activities were identified using factor analysis. The association between number of years participating in each grouping during adolescence and PA level at age 24 was estimated using linear regression within a general estimating equation framework.ResultsThree PA groupings were identified: “sports”, “fitness and dance”, and “running”. There was a positive linear relationship between number of years participating in sports and running in adolescence and PA level at age 24 years (β (95 % confidence interval) = 0.09 (0.04-0.15); 0.08 (0.01-0.15), respectively). There was no relationship between fitness and dance in adolescence and PA level at age 24.ConclusionsThe association between PA participation in adolescence and PA levels in young adulthood may be specific to certain PA types and to consistency of participation during adolescence. Results suggest that efforts to establish the habit of participation in sports and running in adolescence may promote higher PA levels in adulthood.

Diversity of leisure‐time sport activities in adolescence as a predictor of leisure‐time physical activity in adulthood

“…21 A study of 6-to 12-year-old boys who either specialized in one sport or sampled a diverse number of sport activities showed that early diversification promoted prolonged long-term engagement in sport through the development of fundamental motor skills applicable for a range of sport activities. 32 For example, running has been considered as an easily transferable skill between different sport activities, 12 and a recent study reported that the number of years participating in running during adolescence relates to higher adult PA. 33 Additionally, Tammelin et al 23 highlighted the importance of exposure to sport activities requiring and encouraging diversified sport skills early in childhood as it leads to later use of these skills and has a positive association with later LTPA.…”

Longitudinal Trends in Sport Participation and Retention of Women and Girls

“…We know that participation in sport during adolescence is associated with higher physical activity levels in adulthood (Bélanger et al, 2015). However, studies examining sport participation have suggested that sport drop-out (attrition) is relatively high, particularly during adolescence (Olds et al, 2009;Brooke et al, 2014;Eime et al, 2016a).…”

Can participation in sports during childhood influence physical activity in adulthood?

“…On the other hand, sports are usually incorporated into training routines performed at moderate-to-vigorous intensity, as well as it is performed expressively from childhood to adolescence 6 and from adolescence to adulthood. 7 Older people report lower participation in sports in all periods of their lives. 11 In our study, 14.4% of the adults reached 180 min/week of participation in sports, a rate lower than observed in adults from England (41.2% among men and 33.9% among women in 2006).…”

“…In this perspective, the promotion of sports participation during the early years of life is important not only because it promotes health during childhood and adolescence [3][4][5][6] but also because it stimulates engagement in physical activity in adulthood. 7 From a preventive point of view, it is reasonable to believe that adults who participated in sports or attempted some kind of extracurricular activities (e.g. leisure, commuting by bicycle) from a younger age tend to have a healthier life, more so than those who did not participate in anything 8 , enhancing the importance of sports participation in pediatric populations 6,9,23 .…”