Organized Sports, Physical Activity May Help Protect Kids’ Mental Health

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Physical activity, particularly through organized sports, may help protect children from mental health issues as they grow up, according to research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

“With a high global prevalence of mental disorders among children and adolescents and a dramatic increase during the last decades, the need for prevention strategies is obvious,” wrote lead investigator Oskar Lundgren, M.D., an adjunct associate professor in the Division of Pediatrics, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences at Linköping University, in Sweden.

Some research has indicated that physical activity could help lower the risk of mental illness and can be used as both a treatment and a prevention measure, although some experts remain unconvinced by these findings. However, being physically active reduces inflammation, can have a positive effect on self-esteem and can increase an individual’s resilience to stress, which can in turn impact the symptoms of mental illness.

Lundgren and his team followed over 17,000 children from birth through age 18 to better understand how physical activity and other behaviors might influence the risk of developing mental health conditions.

Parents reported how much time their children were physically active, spent outdoors and participated in organized sports at ages 5, 8 and 11. Investigators then compared these behaviors with mental health diagnoses that were recorded in a national registry.

Here’s what they found:

• Physical activity dropped over time. On average, children went from about 4.2 hours of daily activity at age 5 to just 2.5 hours by age 11.
• Being active at age 11 was linked to better mental health. Children who were more physically active at age 11 were less likely to develop any psychiatric condition by age 18. This included conditions like anxiety, depression and addiction.
• Benefits varied by gender.
  • Boys who were active at age 11 had a significantly lower risk of developing anxiety and addiction, and showed signs of lower depression risk.
  • Girls also saw a possible benefit in terms of lower depression risk, but the activity didn’t seem to protect them from anxiety and addiction in the same way.
• Time spent outdoors wasn’t enough. Simply spending more time outside did not seem to protect against mental health issues.
• Participation in organized sports was especially helpful. Kids involved in sports teams or structured physical activities had lower risks of anxiety and addiction — no matter their gender. Boys also saw a reduction in depression risk from sports participation.

Investigators emphasized that the findings support the hypothesis that physical activity in the period just before, and during, the early stages of puberty is important for the development of resilience among kids that will carry them into adulthood. They added that the period between ages 10 and 12 is particularly crucial.

While this large study offers important insights into how physical activity may impact children’s mental health, there are some limitations to consider. Data on physical activity, time outdoors and sports participation were reported by parents, which could be affected by memory errors. Also, since the study was conducted in a well-resourced country, the results may not apply to countries with fewer health care and educational supports.

Despite these limitations, the registry used is highly accurate, and by focusing on diagnosed psychiatric conditions, the study avoids mislabeling short-term stress as mental illness. Following a large group of children over many years and tracking physical activity at multiple ages also allowed the researchers to observe trends — especially how activity at age 11 may be particularly important for mental health — offering clues for future research.

“Given the dramatic increase in the global prevalence of psychiatric disorders among children and adolescents, this study highlights the importance of promoting physical activity, particularly through organized sports,” investigators concluded.