Participation in organised sports and longitudinal development of physical activity in Swiss youth: the population-based SOPHYA cohort

• Published in: Swiss medical weekly 2024-10, Vol.154 (10), p.3778
• Main Authors: Hänggi, Johanna, Lovison, Gianfranco, Jeong, Ayoung, Schaffner, Emmanuel, Njihuis, Emil, Studer, Fabian, Taube, Wolfgang, Kayser, Bengt, Suggs, Suzanne L, Bringolf-Isler, Bettina, Probst-Hensch, Nicole
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accelerometry; Adolescent; Child; Cohort Studies; Exercise; Female; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Sedentary Behavior; Sports - statistics & numerical data; Switzerland
• ISSN: 1424-3997; 1424-3997
• DOI: 10.57187/s.3778

Maintaining physical activity throughout life is crucial for overall health and wellbeing. Yet the age-related decline in average physical activity, a natural phenomenon also observed in animals, poses a challenge. This study aimed to investigate whether participation in organised sports supported by the Swiss Youth+Sports (Y+S) programme is associated with sustaining or enhancing physical activity among children and adolescents during 5 years of follow-up. The longitudinal study was nested in the population-based SOPHYA (Swiss children's Objectively measured PHYsical Activity) cohort. Participants aged 6-16 years at SOPHYA1 (2014) with complete accelerometer data from baseline and follow-up assessment (SOPHYA2, 2019) were included. The primary exposure was participation in organised sport during the follow-up period, calculated by linkage with the Y+S database as the number of days with at least one activity in Y+S-offered programmes for ages 5 to 20 years. The primary outcome was the categorisation of participants into physical activity "improvers" or "worseners". Improvers in the respective physical activity categories - total activity counts per minute (CPM), minutes in moderate-to-vigorous activity (MVPA), minutes in light activity (LPA) and minutes in sedentary behaviour (SB) - increased or maintained their active physical activity during the 5 follow-up years. Information on confounders and effect modifiers (sex, age, body mass index (BMI), language region, household income, education) was obtained by self-report at baseline. Logistic regressions examined the relationship between organised sport participation and the probability of being a physical activity improver in each physical activity intensity category separately. Covariates for the final models were selected through a stepwise procedure based on the Bayesian information criterion from a maximal model containing all covariates as well as all two-way interactions with organised sport and between them. All models were a priori adjusted for technical variables (season of measurement; wear time; duration of follow-up). The analysis included 432 participants. There was a strong CPM, MVPA and LPA decline from 2014 to 2019, but an increase in SB. Nevertheless, the prevalence of improvers was 22.5% for CPM, 9.5% for MVPA, 26.9% for LPA and 9.7% for SB. Engagement in organised sport between 2014 and 2019 was positively associated with CPM, MVPA and SB, but not with LPA improver status. For 30 additio