People and Sports - Popular Sports For Teenagers

The graphic shows the most popular physical activities for youths between the ages of 12 and 17 according to figures from American Sports Data. Figures are rates per 100 people; teens had to do an activity once over the past year.

The survey shows steady declines in almost every category. The biggest decline was in volleyball; nearly 49 teens of 100 played volleyball in 1987; only 26 of 100 did so in 2000. Other categories that saw steep declines were in sports seen as American institutions: softball, baseball, and touch football. Even basketball, at the top of the list, saw its numbers fall from 57.4 to 45.5 in seven years. There are some troubling ramifications here. Youths are rejecting team sports and the character-building experiences they can offer: working with others, good conduct, and making friends. Baseball's audience has been shrinking and is not gaining new participants who play and follow the sport. What will happen to our national pastime?

Some sports have seen an increase in activity. More teens are using weight machines, no doubt trying to attain the "perfect body" as a boost to their self esteem and sexual desirability. In-line skating and snowboarding are new arrivals, not having shown up on the 1987 survey. These are new and trendy sports and, as "extreme sports," have attracted a certain type of daredevil young man and woman; they give the sports flash and visibility.

A point needs to be made here: sports allow teenagers to get the regular, strenuous physical workout that they need. A good part of kids' exercise has traditionally come from organized sports and physical education classes. But there has been a marked drop-off in kids attending gym classes. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the percent of teens that attend gym class fell from 32% in 1991 to 27% in 1997. According to the report, Shape of the Nation, by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, the majority of high school students take physical education for only one year between the ninth and twelfth grades. Half of all states allow substitutions for gym class; some students, such as band members, may get exemptions.

The lack of physical exercise is troubling particularly in light of statistics on children's obesity rates. Roughly 5% of teenagers were overweight at the end of 1980; that figure has almost tripled in recent years according to the Centers for Disease Control. One's weight is related to exercise and eating patterns, of course. But many experts argue that the patterns we establish in our youth affect how we behave as adults: an overweight teenager is likely to be overweight in middle age. If we exercise regularly when we are young, we're also likely to be active as adults.

Organized sports offer an excellent opportunity for teenagers to stay fit. What is the status of high school sports? How many teenagers are pursuing these activities? The answers, covered in the next panel, are somewhat more reassuring.

Sources: "Older Americans Exercise More While Teenagers Take It Easy." Research Alert. 3 August 2001, p. 3; "Exercise Edged Out of High Schools." USA TODAY. 11 October 2001, p. 9D; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. Health 2001; National Association for Sport and Physical Education, Shape of the Nation, 2001.