Young people's involvement in different kinds of physical activity
Young people are involved in different levels and kinds of physical activity, ranging from serious commitment to multiple organised sports, to a complete absence of interest in any form of activity.
Overall levels of involvement in sport and physical activity
On any given day, about 55 per cent of 11–13-year-olds will play some kind of sport. Participation is higher for boys, younger children, and on school days. About 2–5 per cent (32–69 minutes) of children’s daily time budgets is devoted to sport, which contributes 12–19 per cent of a child’s total daily energy expenditure. In addition to sport, 3–4 per cent of children’s time (52–62 minutes per day) is devoted to free play and active locomotion, equating to 12–13 per cent of their daily energy expenditure.
Figure 1 Percentage of time devoted to sleeping, screen time, sport, play, locomotion and other activities, including schoolwork, non-screen inactivity, self-care and chores, on school and non-school days for boys and girls
Distribution of sport time
The distribution of time devoted to sport is highly skewed. The median daily time devoted to sport is 35 minutes, but on one-quarter of days, children do no sport at all. At the other end of the scale, children do 85 minutes or more of sport on one-quarter of days, and 185 minutes or more on 5 per cent of days. These figures reflect both variability in habitual activity among children and day-to-day variability in the same child. Activity patterns tend to cluster in several distinct styles. A cluster analysis has identified certain types of children (‘sporties’ and ‘players’) with high levels of engagement in sport and physical activity. Boy ‘sporties’, for example, spend four times the amount of time each day involved in sport as children from other activity styles. Girl ‘players’ spend twice as much time playing as other girls. These activity styles are largely independent of major socio-demographic factors such as socio-economic status.
When children play sport
On school days, sport participation peaks at lunch time (25 per cent of all profiles), recess (12 per cent) and after school (12 per cent). On non-school days, participation rises slowly to plateau at about 8–10 per cent from about 10.00am until 5.00pm. Children are more likely to play sport on school days than on non-school days, and about half of all sport on school days occurs in school hours. Sport participation is highest in summer and lowest in winter. Figure 2 shows the percentage of children playing sport as the day progresses. On the school day, there are peaks at recess and lunch, and a slowly accumulating peak after school finishes. About 5 per cent of children are playing sport at any one time during the school day, which roughly agrees with recent estimates that about 3 per cent of school time is devoted to sport. It is of interest that even at the lunchtime peak (1.15pm), only 25 per cent of children are playing sport. This is in part due to the fact that schools in South Australia have different lunchtimes, but also reflects the fact that many school children will either play or do nothing active at lunchtime. However, even after school, in the critical window period (between after school and the evening meal), less than 12 per cent of children are playing sport at any one time. After school, participation rises slowly to peak at 4.45pm (11.7 per cent), and then declines rapidly.
Figure 2 Percentage of children playing sport at different times during school and non-school days
Physical activity versus screen time
Over half of all children aged 5–14 years are spending more time watching television and videos than in the school classroom. The overwhelming competitor for physical activity is screen time — television, video games, cinema and texting. Every extra hour of sport reduces screen time by 20–24 minutes. During the critical window period (between school and dinner), children are three to four times more likely to be in front of a screen than playing sport. While there is no evidence to suggest that children enjoy physical activity any less than previous generations, there is a wider choice on the modern leisure ‘menu’.
Sport versus play
Qualitative studies (MacDougall et al. 2003) have suggested that terms such as ‘sport’, ‘play’ and ‘physical activity’ have quite different resonances for children. ‘Sport’ suggests involvement in organised, rule-governed activities, particularly team events. ‘Play’ is construed as free, unorganised and spontaneous. Play is much more common in girls and younger children; sport is preferred by boys and older children. The secular and age-related decline in physical activity is due in large part to the decline in free play. Free unsupervised play in the neighbourhood, once a dominant feature on the suburban Australian landscape, is severely curtailed by rising concerns for children’s safety, associated with crime and heavy traffic. The impact of modern street design, consumption of play space for further development, smaller home blocks, longer working hours of parents, and a general disintegration of neighbourhood social networks also contribute to reductions in children’s energy expenditure.
Which sports are the most popular?
A recent survey of upper-primary and lower-secondary school-age children identified soccer (21 per cent of all sport minutes) as the most popular sport, followed by basketball (15 per cent), Australian football (11 per cent), cricket (9 per cent) and netball (6 per cent). Together, these sports accounted for about two-thirds of all time and energy children spent playing sport. When asked which sports they would like to do that they were not currently doing, the most popular choices were surfing (11 per cent), soccer (8 per cent), dancing (7 per cent), basketball (7 per cent) and cycling (6 per cent).
What attracts children to, or repels them from, sport?
The most commonly offered reason for not participating in (more) sport was lack of time or other time commitments such as homework and jobs (40 per cent of all responses). Focus groups raised other issues such as an emphasis on rigid rules, uniforms, training drills, competition and winning. Fear of injury also emerged in focus groups as a deterrent. However, these issues rated very low (under 5 per cent) of questionnaire responses. When asked what would facilitate their involvement in sport, the most common responses were the ability to play with friends and family (24 per cent of all mentions), and various logistical issues, such as transport, facilities and cost (35 per cent). New forms of locomotion (for example, skateboards and micro-scooters) were chosen by 9 per cent of children.
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