Can participation in sports during childhood influence physical activity in adulthood?

Abstract Aims: The promotion of sports participation during the early years of life is important not only because it promotes health during childhood and adolescence, but also because it has benefits in adulthood. This study was developed to identify the association between sports participation during the early years of life and adulthood, to analyze the non-participation in sports throughout life and to identify the correlates of non-participation in sports. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. Methods: The sample was composed of 743 adults randomly selected in a medium-size Brazilian city. Non-participation in sports during childhood and adolescence was assessed through specific questions, and non-participation in sports in adulthood was assessed using the second section of Baecke questionnaire. Answering “no” in the three periods assessed (childhood, adolescence and adulthood) was characterized as non-participation in sports throughout life. Chronological age, sex, formal education, BMI, current job and ethnicity were considered covariates. Categorical data were expressed as rates and compared using chi-square test and binary logistic regression. Results: The prevalence of adults not engaged in sports throughout life was 58.5% (95% CI= 55.1 - 62.1). Females (OR = 2.41 [1.71 - 3.38]), those more advanced in age (OR = 3.29 [1.82-5.94]) and/or possessing a lower level of education (OR = 4.47 [2.45 - 8.17]) were associated with the non-engagement in sports. Conclusion: Non-participation in sports during childhood can influence non-participation in sports during adulthood, which is significantly affected by sex, age and education level.

### 摘要
#### 研究目的
生命早期参与体育运动具有重要意义，其不仅可促进儿童与青少年时期的健康，还能为成年期带来健康获益。本研究旨在明确生命早期体育运动参与与成年期体育运动参与之间的关联，分析终生未参与体育运动的情况，并识别体育运动未参与行为的相关影响因素。
#### 研究设计
横断面研究。
#### 研究方法
本研究样本为巴西某中等城市随机抽取的743名成年人。通过特异性问卷问题评估儿童及青少年时期的体育运动未参与情况，采用贝克运动问卷（Baecke Questionnaire）第二部分评估成年期体育运动未参与情况。若在儿童期、青少年期及成年期三个评估阶段均作答“否”，则被定义为终生未参与体育运动。本研究纳入的协变量包括实际年龄、性别、受教育程度、体质量指数（Body Mass Index, BMI）、当前职业及种族。分类数据以率的形式呈现，采用卡方检验及二元logistic回归进行组间比较。
#### 研究结果
终生未参与体育运动的成年人占比为58.5%（95%置信区间：55.1~62.1）。女性（优势比OR=2.41，95%CI：1.71~3.38）、年龄较大群体（OR=3.29，95%CI：1.82~5.94）以及受教育程度较低群体（OR=4.47，95%CI：2.45~8.17）与体育运动未参与情况显著相关。
#### 研究结论
儿童时期未参与体育运动可能会影响成年后的体育运动参与情况，而成年后未参与体育运动的情况显著受性别、年龄及受教育程度的影响。