book 154 Does sports participation promote health? Challenges for providers Authors: Paul Downward & Simona Rasciute Institution: Loughborough University E-mail: [email protected] Aim of paper Public policy emphasises the need for individuals to participate in sport and physical activity to promote their health, both in the UK as well as internationally (WHO World Health Day, 2002). This p...

INTRODUCTION Extracurricular school sports programs can provide adolescents, including those who are economically disadvantaged, with opportunities to engage in physical activity. Although current models favor more exclusionary interscholastic sports, a better understanding is needed of the potential effects of providing alternative school sports options, such as more inclusive intramural sport...

In Europe in 2008 governments spent 36 billion Euro on sports subsidies. One of the main goals for spending public money on sports is to increase the participation of people in sports. Th e Czech Republic even spent more than average on sports. However, the participation in sports in this country lags behind the European average. Th is article investigates whether the way such grants are given ...

CONTEXT There is increased growth in sports participation across the globe. Sports specialization patterns, which include year-round training, participation on multiple teams of the same sport, and focused participation in a single sport at a young age, are at high levels. The need for this type of early specialized training in young athletes is currently under debate. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION No...

BACKGROUND While numerous studies have examined the relationships among correlates of physical activity (PA), less attention has been given to identifying the correlates of low PA duration. The main objective of the current study was to examine correlates of low PA duration, team sports participation and smoking behaviors among adolescents. METHODS Data from the 2005 Colorado Youth Behavioral...

Background: There is limited research on the association between opportunity cost of time and sports and exercise due to lack of data on opportunity cost of time. Using a sample of 14142 adults from Health Survey for England (2006), we develop and test a composite index of opportunity cost of time (to address the current issues with data constraint on opportunity cost of time) in order to explo...

BACKGROUND Alternative high school (AHS) students have low levels of physical activity (PA) and high rates of overweight/obesity. Sports team participation, a specific form of PA, is associated with increased PA and decreased overweight/obesity in general adolescent populations. However, little is known about the prevalence and correlates of sports team participation among AHS students. METHO...