According to a new research from the University of West Virginia, young teens who are physically active and play on sports teams are more
satisfied with their lives and feel healthier than their inactive peers.
The study looked into
the effect of playing sports on children ages 12 to 14 years old.
A group of 245 middle school students were given questionnaires
assessing their physical activity levels, their overall satisfaction
with life and about their health.
Girls who had participated in vigorous activity in the prior week were
significantly more satisfied with their life compared to girls who were
inactive. Playing on sports teams was linked to higher life satisfaction in both boys and girls, according to the researchers.
Also, boys were five times more likely and girls 30 times more likely,
to describe their health as fair or poor when they were not playing on a
sports team.
A report on the findings is published in the online version of the journal Applied Research in Quality of Life.
