Association between Club Sports Participation and Physical Fitness across 6- to 14-Year-Old Austrian Youth

Clemens Drenowatz, Klaus Greier, Gerhard Ruedl and Martin Kopp
Additional contact information
Clemens Drenowatz: Division of Physical Education, University of Education Upper Austria, 4020 Linz, Austria
Klaus Greier: Division of Physical Education, Private University of Education (KPH-ES), 6422 Stams, Austria
Gerhard Ruedl: Department of Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Martin Kopp: Department of Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 18, 1-11

Abstract: Changes in social and built environments most likely contribute to a decline in physical activity (PA) and physical fitness in children and adolescents. Organized sports may be an important component in ensuring adequate fitness, which is an important aspect in general health and well-being. The present study examines differences by club sports participation in cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength, power, speed, agility, flexibility and balance in 3293 (55.1% male) Austrian children and adolescents between 6 and 14 years of age. Anthropometric measurements (height and weight) were taken and participants completed the German motor test during regular class time. Even though there was no significant difference in body weight between club sports participants and non-club sports participants, club sports participation was associated with higher physical fitness, particularly regarding endurance, strength, power, and agility. Differences by club sports participation, however, declined during the elementary school years (6–10 years of age), while they became more pronounced during middle school years (10–14 years of age). Club sports participation, therefore, may be a viable option in the promotion of physical fitness, particularly during adolescence. At younger ages, other sources of PA, such as physical education and free play, however, should be considered to ensure sufficient fitness levels that contribute to a healthy and active lifestyle.

Keywords: cardiorespiratory endurance; strength; power; agility; body weight; children; adolescents; physical activity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/18/3392/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/18/3392/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:18:p:3392-:d:266888

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().