Sports participation and health status: a preliminary analysis

This paper presents fresh evidence which examines health in relation to age, sex, socio-economic status, sport type and frequency amongst indoor sports participants. The evidence is from 4441 self-completed questionnaires by representative samples of adult participants in seven indoor sports at 46 separate sports facilities, in six U.K. cities. Six indicators of the respondents' health were inter-related and, for purposes of this analysis, are combined into a six-point scale, Males and females in all age groups who were taking part in the more physically demanding sports recorded the highest health scores. In addition, individuals who were playing these demanding sports more than once per week scored higher than those participating in the same activities less often. Health score was also found to be associated with other health-promoting lifestyle practices, such as never smoking and moderate alcohol consumption. Longitudinal corroboration will be necessary to confirm sport as a causal factor in the health-sport relationship, though the cross-sectional evidence from this enquiry is encouraging. It suggests that all types of physically demanding sport, competitive or not, offer measurable health gains to men and women of all ages and whatever their broader ways of living.