High school sports programs differentially impact participation by sex

Background： Among numerous health benefits, sports participation has been shown to reduce the risk of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents. Schools represent an ideal environment for increasing sports participation, but it is unclear how access and choice influence participation and whether characteristics of the school sports program differentially influence boys＇ and girls＇ participation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the characteristics of high school athletic programs and determine the extent to which these characteristics influenced boys＇ and girls＇ sports team participation. Methods： Longitudinal telephone surveys were conducted with 1244 New Hampshire and Vermont students. Students self-reported their sports team participation at baseline （elementary school） and follow-up （high school）. High school personnel were surveyed to assess sports oppor- tunities, which were defined for this analysis as the number of sports offered per 100 students （i.e., choice） and the percent of sports offered that did not restrict the number of players （i.e., access）. Results： Approximately 70% of children participated on at least one sports team, including 73% of boys and 66% of girls. We detected sta- tistically significant interactions between sex and two school opportunity variables： 1） the number of sports offered per 100 students （i.e., choice） and 2） the percent of sports offered that did not restrict the number of players （i.e., access）. After controlling for children＇s baseline sports participation and other covariates, boys were more likely to play on at least one sports team per year if their school did not restrict participation in the most popular sports （relative risk, RR = 1.12, p 〈 0.01）; in contrast, girls were more likely to play on at least one sports team per year if their school offered a wider variety of sports （RR = 1.47, p 〈 0.001）. Conclusion： Sports participation has previously been shown to confer a number of health benefits; as such, school sports programs may be an important, effective, and underused target for public health efforts, including obesity prevention programs. Efforts to increase physical activity among youth should consider both access and choice in school athletic programs. Schools may need to use different strategies to increase sports participation in boys and girls.

背景:研究表明,参加体育活动可降低儿童和青少年肥胖的风险。学校是促进儿童和青少年参加体育活动的理想环境,但目前尚不清楚体育活动的"获得"和"选择"如何影响学生的参与度,也不清楚学校体育课的特点对学生参与体育的影响是否存在性别差异。本研究旨在评价高中体育运动项目的特点,并确定这些体育课程对男女生参与运动队的影响程度。方法:用电话采访的方式纵向调查了1,244名新罕布什尔州和佛蒙特州的学生。学生自述他们小学至高中阶段参与运动队的情况。通过调查高中职员了解体育机会。在本研究中,"体育机会"是指每100名学生所对应的学校提供的体育项目种类《选择)和学校提供的体育种类中不限制参加人数的体育项目的比例(获得)。结果:约70%的儿童参加了至少一个体育运动队,男生为73%,女生为66%。研究发现在性别和两个体育机会变量之间存在显著交互影响。控制小学生参与体育活动和其他协变量后,发现如果学校不限制最受欢迎的体育项目的参与人数,男生会参加更多的体育运动队(RR=1.12,p<0.01)。相反,如果学校提供广泛的体育项目,女生会参加更多的体育运动队(RR=1 47,p<0.001)。结论:前人研究表明,参加体育活动能带来许多健康效益。对公共卫生工作包括预防肥胖而言,学校体育课可能是一个重要而有效但未被充分利用的对象。要使青少年参加更多的体育活动,就应综合考虑学校体育项目的获得和选择。学校可运用不同策略,促使男生和女生更多地参加体育活动。