Diversity of leisure-time sport activities in adolescence as a predictor of leisure-time physical activity in adulthood

Abstract

Because sustained physical activity is important for a healthy life, this paper examined whether a greater diversity of sport activities during adolescence predicts higher levels of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) in adulthood. From sport activity participation reported by 17-year-old twins, we formed five groups: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5+ different sport activities. At follow-up in their mid-thirties, twins were divided into four activity classes based on LTPA, including active commuting. Multinomial regression analyses, adjusted for several confounders, were conducted separately for male (N=1288) and female (N=1770) participants. Further, conditional logistic regression analysis included 23 twin pairs discordant for both diversity of sport activities in adolescence and LTPA in adulthood. The diversity of leisure-time sport activities in adolescence had a significant positive association with adulthood LTPA among females. Membership in the most active adult quartile, compared to the least active quartile, was predicted by participation in 2, 3, 4, and 5+ sport activities in adolescence with odds ratios: 1.52 (p=0.11), 1.86 (p=0.02), 1.29 (p=0.39), and 3.12 (p=5.4e-05), respectively. Within-pair analyses, limited by the small sample of twins discordant for both adolescent activities and adult outcomes (N=23), did not replicate the association. A greater diversity of leisure-time sport activities in adolescence predicts higher levels of LTPA in adulthood in females, but the causal nature of this association remains unresolved.