Meiner, Christina Birch ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5780-565X, Eckert, Caroline ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3618-7673, Aggestrup, Charlotte Sandager, Pfeffer, Kristina, Tarantino, Giampiero ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9627-883X, Prisak, Camilla, Cimenti, Chiara, Thøgersen-Ntoumani, Cecilie, Ntoumanis, Nikos ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7122-3795, Krustrup, Peter, Larsen, Malte Nejst and Oliveira, Rafael (2025) Superior health-related physical fitness and well-being in 12–15-year-old Danish adolescents who are active in organized leisure-time sports – a cross-sectional study. PLOS One, 20 (9). e0330950.

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Abstract

Background

Global reports indicate that less than 20% of 11–17-year-olds meet physical activity recommendations, and while organized sports participation increases the likelihood of meeting these guidelines, no other studies were found that examined the impact on well-being and physical fitness outcomes among Danish adolescents based on participation in leisure time sports.
Methods

The study employed a cross-sectional design, assessing cardiorespiratory fitness, fat percentage, and well-being, as well as several other health and fitness outcomes among 1,333 Danish adolescents (50% girls). Differences between participants in organized sports and non-participants, as well as between participants in different sport categories were assessed through ANCOVA analysis.
Results

Girls and boys participating in organized sports, ran longer (p<0.05) in the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery level1 Children's test (IR1C) (G: d = 0.72 [0.54; 0.89]; B: d = 0.70 [0.50; 0.89]) and had lower (p<0.05) fat percentages than non-participants (G: d = 0.42 [0.25; 0.59]; B: d = 0.33 [0.14; 0.51]). Organized sport participants had higher ( p < 0.05) well-being than non-participants in all KIDSCREEN-27 sub-scales apart from social support and peers . Girls in individual sports had lower (p<0.05) well-being than girls in other sports in all sub-scales apart from parent relations and autonomy. Multisport participation for both sexes, as well as participation in soccer for boys, was associated with a greater distance covered in the Yo-Yo IR1C ( p < 0.05). A significant drop out of sports from the previous to the current year was found among girls, but not among boys.
Conclusion

Participation in organized leisure-time sports is linked to better health, fitness, and well-being, especially for girls, who show greater disparities with non-participants. Participation in team sports is linked to higher well-being compared to individual sports in girls, but not in boys. High dropout rates among adolescent girls call for targeted strategies to sustain their participation and derived benefits.

Item Type:	Article
Status:	Published
DOI:	10.1371/journal.pone.0330950
School/Department:	School of Health Sciences
URI:	https://ray.yorksj.ac.uk/id/eprint/15910

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