Runar Vilhjalmsson, PhD

University of Iceland

Organized sports involvement among young people: Determinants and consequences

Research indicates that participation in structured sport programs has beneficial effects on the physical activity behaviors and lifestyle practices of young people. Specifically, sport participants are more likely to engage in regular strenuous physical activity than are non-participants, and are also more likely to consume healthy foods and to abstain from cigarettes and illicit drug use. In fact, participation in organized sports may be more important for health and well-being than other forms of physical activity. However, considerable individual and group variations have been reported in levels of participation in organized sports. In fact, among children and youth, involvement in organized sports is distributed more unevenly than involvement in other leisure time physical activities. Factors associated with unequal participation rates, and decisions to continue versus discontinue sports involvement are explored.