Is overweight a risk factor for sports injuries in children, adolescents, and young adults?

Physical activity and sports participation are promoted to counteract the increased prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and young adults. Both high body mass index and physical activity level have been associated with an increased risk of sports injuries. The objective is to determine the relationship between sports injuries and overweight in sports participants (4-24 years), taking physical activity into account. Data were obtained from the 2006-2011 Injuries and Physical Activity in the Netherlands survey. Analyses were based on a representative sample of 3846 sports participants (4-24 years). Univariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were applied to investigate the association between sports injury and weight status. Of all the sports participants, 14.7% were overweight. Compared with normal-weight sports participants, the odds of sustaining a sports injury was 0.73 [confidence interval (CI): 0.53-1.00, P=0.050] for overweight sports participants; the odds for underweight sports participants was 0.80 (CI: 0.56-1.15, P=0.226). There is some evidence that overweight sports participants (4-24 years) do not have an increased injury risk compared with normal-weight sports participants, even when the level of physical activity is taken into account. Additional research is recommended regarding overweight people who start to participate in a physically active lifestyle.