Teenage Sport Trajectory Is Associated With Physical Activity, but Not Body Composition or Blood Pressure in Early Adulthood

Abstract

Purpose: Commonly held hypotheses in practice suggest that compared to single-sport participation, multi-sport participation is associated with higher physical activity (PA) levels and health benefits in the long term. To verify this in the general population, we identified sport participation trajectories during adolescence and examined their associations with PA and health outcomes in young adulthood.

Methods: Participants (n = 655) from the Nicotine Dependence in Teens study self-reported sport involvement up to four times per year from age 12 to 17 years. At age 24, PA was assessed using questionnaires and accelerometers, and body composition (i.e., body mass index, waist circumference, skinfold thickness) and blood pressure were measured objectively. We used group-based trajectory modeling to identify sport participation trajectories from age 12 to 17. Associations between trajectories and outcomes in early adulthood were estimated in multivariable linear regression models.

Results: We identified four sport participation trajectories during adolescence: non-participants (n = 148, 22%), dropouts (n = 133, 21%), single-sport (n = 248, 37%), and multi-sport participation (n = 126, 20%). Compared to non-participation, multi-sport participation during adolescence was associated with higher self-reported PA in early adulthood (β [95% confidence interval] = 0.26 [0.00-0.52], MET-minutes/week). No association was detected between sport trajectories and accelerometer-measured PA, body composition or blood pressure in early adulthood.

Discussion: Our results partially support models suggesting the existence of distinct sport participation trajectories during adolescence and that multi-sport participation is associated with higher self-reported PA levels in adulthood. Our results do not support that sport participation trajectories during adolescence are linked to lower blood pressure or healthier body composition in adulthood.

Keywords: Group-based trajectory modeling; Multi-sport participation; Youth.