Association between sports participation and overall health in children and adolescents

Emerging evidence revealed that participating in sports may have benefits for health, but the association between sports participation and self-rated overall health has not been clearly established in children and adolescents. The present study aimed to examine the cross-sectional relationships between sports participation and self-rated overall health. A national sample of 42,777 (mean age = 9.4 +/- 5.2, 48.3% girls) United States children and adolescents completed self-administered questionnaires and were included in the final analysis. The crude and adjusted odds ratio (ORs) and 95% CI were used to analyze the association between sports participation and self-rated overall health. Results indicated that children and adolescents participated in sports were more likely to report better overall health (OR = 1.92, 95%CI: 1.83, 2.02) compared to those not participating in sports. This study found that sport participation was positively associated with self-rated overall health in children and adolescents. This study offers evidence concerning adolescents' health literacy promotion.