A great sporting nation? Sport participation in New Zealand youth

Abstract

Sport is a key avenue to promote regular physical activity and health inyoung people. The study aim was to describe sport participation in NewZealand young people. A national cross-sectional survey of young peopleaged 5–24 years (n=2,503) was conducted. Use of time, demographicand anthropometric data were analysed for participants aged 10–18years (n=1,308) to identify patterns of sport participation. Overall, 894(68%) participants reported engaging in sport. Average daily participationwas 48 minutes of sport and 153 minutes of moderate-vigorous physicalactivity; sport participation therefore accounted for 31% of moderatevigorousphysical activity by time. Sport participation was higher inmales than females, in younger (10–14 years) than older (15–18 years)participants, and in Pacific young people than in other ethnic groups.Pacific youth reported the highest participation in team-based sports butthe lowest participation in individual-based sports. There were gender,age and ethnic differences in the most popular sports. Overall, sportparticipation contributed considerably to daily physical activity. Femaleswere particularly ‘at-risk’ for lower sport participation, and may benefit from targeted intervention. The popularity of sports differed among demographic groups, suggesting it is important to ensure a range of sports are accessible to young people