School Sports Survey

American Fitness, Sept, 2000

SGMA study shows that younger adults are more likely to credit parents as sports or fitness role models

The intriguing possibility that parents are placing greater emphasis on encouraging their children to become involved in sports or fitness activities was raised by a new national survey exploring the attitudes of young adults toward physical education programs. Some 660 men and women ages 18 to 34 participated in the survey, which found that the younger the age group, the more likely the participants were to cite their parents as role models in encouraging them to be involved in sports or fitness.

Of those ages 30 to 34, 43 percent named their parents as fitness role models; of those ages 25 to 29, 51 percent named parents as role models; and of those ages 18 to 24, 63 percent named parents as fitness role models.

"It's possible that parents may be alarmed by the trend to obesity and inactivity affecting so many children today and are trying to do something about it," says Tom Cove, vice president of the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA), co-sponsor of the study.

"It's clear from this study and others that parents play the most important role in instilling a love of physical activity in young people," Cove says. "Any suggestion that they are raising the bar for their kids is heartening."

Overall, 53 percent of young adults cited their parents as role models for sports and fitness activities. Second in importance was a friend, cited by 33 percent. Then came a coach (28 percent), a teacher (20 percent) and a brother or sister (18 percent). "A celebrity athlete" was named by only 5 percent.

In separate questions, the study probed the role of physical education classes in encouraging later activity in sports or fitness. Thirty-three percent of respondents said physical education classes encouraged them to be active later, while 11 percent found them discouraging.

"The study clearly demonstrates a link between positive experiences in physical education classes and physical activity later in life," Cove says. "This link needs to be exploited in the future to create a more active and healthy population."

SGMA and a coalition of sporting goods organizations are campaigning for proposed federal legislation that would provide $400 million over 5 years to encourage and improve physical education programs in elementary and secondary schools. Physical education classes have been in decline over the past 10 years and, at the same time, childhood obesity has increased rapidly. The legislation, introduced by Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), is called the Physical Education for Progress (PEP) Act.

The young adults in the survey strongly support such legislation. Seventy-two percent said they agreed with it, while only 10 percent disagreed.

The study found that, as a whole, young adults look back on their physical education classes as either positive or neutral, but those who are presently very active were much more likely to have had a positive experience in school.

For example, among survey participants ages 18 to 34, 48 percent said their high school physical education classes were positive (with 41 percent saying neutral and 9 percent saying negative). Among those who are completely inactive today, however, only 27 percent report a positive high school physical education experience. Among those who are most active today, 66 percent rated their experience as positive.

For more information, visit the SGMA Web site at www.sportlink.com.

About the Survey

During November 1999, questionnaire booklets were mailed to a nationally representative sample of individuals ages 18 to 34 who were members of the consumer mail panel of NFO Worldwide. Six-hundred sixty-two questionnaires (more than half of those mailed) were received in time to be included in the final tabulation, which was balanced to reflect the population of the 48 continental United States. The survey was developed, conducted and analyzed by American Sports Data, Inc., and sponsored by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA) and Wilson Sporting Goods.

The Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, owner of the Super Show[R], is the trade association of North American manufacturers, producers and distributors of sports apparel, athletic footwear, fitness and sporting goods equipment. SGMA represents and supports its members through programs and strategies for sports participation, market intelligence and public policy.

Physical Activity and Our Nation's Youth

* Source, unless otherwise listed, is the National Association Sports and Physical Education (NASPE).

[check] In 1991, 42% of students in grades 9 through 12 were enrolled in daily physical education. By 1995, the figure had dropped to 25%.

[check] One of four children does not attend any school physical education class.

[check] The amount of time students are actually active during physical education classes is decreasing. In 1991, 81% of enrolled students were active for at least 20 minutes; in 1995, only 70% were active for at least 20 minutes.