Eime R M, Harvey J T, Charity M J, Payne W R
Institute of Sport, Exercise and Active Living, Victoria University, PO Box 14428, Melbourne, VIC, 8001, Australia.
School of Health Sciences and Psychology, Federation University Australia, PO Box 663, Ballarat, VIC, 3353, Australia.
BMC Public Health. 2016 Aug 9;16:752. doi: 10.1186/s12889-016-3463-5.
Participation in sport can contribute to health-enhancing levels of leisure-time physical activity. There are recent reports that participation in sport in Australia is decreasing. However, these studies are limited to ages 15 years and over.
This study integrates sports club membership data from five popular team sports and investigates sport participation across the lifespan (4-100 years) by sex and region (metropolitan/non-metropolitan).
Overall participant numbers per annum increased from 414,167 in 2010 to 465,403 in 2012 corresponding to a rise in the proportion of Victorian's participating in these sports from 7.5 % in 2010 to 8.3 % in 2012. The highest proportion of participants was in the 10-14 year age range, with participation rates of 36 % in 2010 and 40 % in 2012. There was a considerably lower participation rate in the 15-19 year age group compared to the 10-14 age group, in all three years studied, and the decline continued progressively with increasing age. Male and female age profiles of participation were generally similar in shape, but the female peak at age 10-14 was sharper than for the males, and conversely there were very few 4 year old female participants. Participation rates were generally higher in non-metropolitan than metropolitan areas; the difference increased with increasing age from 4 to 34 years, then steadily declined, reaching parity at around 60 years of age.
It is a positive sign that participation in these popular sports increased by over 50,000 participants from 2010 to 2012. Large proportions of the population aged 5-14 participate in club based sport. Participation rates decline sharply in late adolescence, particularly for females, and while this may not be a concern from a broad health perspective so long as they transition into other forms of physical activity, it is certainly a matter of concern for the sport sector. It is recommended that sport policy places a higher priority on grass-roots participation and that sporting organisations are supported to prioritise the retention issues occurring during adolescence, particularly for females so as to maximise the potential for sport to maintain its positive contribution to population wellbeing.
参与体育运动有助于提升休闲时间的身体活动水平，达到促进健康的程度。近期有报道称，澳大利亚参与体育运动的人数在减少。然而，这些研究仅限于15岁及以上人群。
本研究整合了五项热门团队运动的体育俱乐部会员数据，按性别和地区（大都市/非大都市）调查了全年龄段（4 - 100岁）的体育运动参与情况。
每年的总体参与者人数从2010年的414,167人增加到2012年的465,403人，相应地，参与这些运动的维多利亚州人的比例从2010年的7.5%上升到2012年的8.3%。参与者比例最高的是10 - 14岁年龄组，2010年的参与率为36%，2012年为40%。在所有研究的三年中，15 - 19岁年龄组的参与率与10 - 14岁年龄组相比显著较低，且随着年龄增长持续下降。男性和女性的参与年龄分布大致相似，但10 - 14岁女性的峰值比男性更明显，相反，4岁的女性参与者很少。非大都市地区的参与率通常高于大都市地区；从4岁到34岁，这种差异随着年龄增长而增加，然后稳步下降，在60岁左右达到持平。
从2010年到2012年，参与这些热门运动的人数增加了5万多人，这是一个积极的信号。5 - 14岁的很大一部分人口参与基于俱乐部的运动。参与率在青春期后期急剧下降，尤其是女性，虽然从广泛的健康角度来看，只要他们过渡到其他形式的身体活动，这可能不是一个问题，但这对体育部门来说肯定是一个值得关注的问题。建议体育政策将基层参与放在更高的优先位置，并支持体育组织优先处理青春期出现的留存问题，特别是针对女性，以便最大限度地发挥体育运动对人口福祉的积极贡献潜力。
