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Team
Sports Reduces Risky Behavior in Teens
Physical activity and team sports offer teenagers more than
just the obvious exercise-related health benefits.
High school students who take part in team sports and are
also physically active outside school may be at reduced
risk for engaging in risky sexual behavior and for using
drugs or cigarettes, says a U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) study.
The researchers analyzed surveys completed by 15,349 American
high school students. They found that 41.9 percent of the
students were both physically active and participated in
team sports, 22.1 percent were physically active but did
not take part in team sports, 12.6 percent were physically
non-active team members, and 22.3 percent were non-active
and didn't play team sports.
The study also found more female students (29.3 percent)
were non-active than males (15.3 percent) and that more
male students (48.9 percent) were both active and took part
in team sports than female students (34.8 percent).
"Overall, being both physically active and a team sports
participant was associated with a lower prevalence of several
health risk behaviors," the authors write.
"Contrary to the results of other studies, active team
male students were not more likely than their active non-team
and non-active peers to have used alcohol, to have ever
had sex, or to have initiated sexual intercourse at an early
age. They were also no less likely to have used cigarettes
or marijuana," the authors write.
Here's where you can learn more about exercise.
Article Source: HealthDay
Article Author: N/A
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