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BACKGROUND: The present study considered age- and sex-associated variation in sports participation (SP) in Portuguese youth. METHOD: A national 12,568 students, 10-18 years, was surveyed. Two items of the Baecke et al. (1982) questionnaire that deal with SP were considered. Logistic regression and factorial ANOVA were used. RESULTS: The prevalence of SP is greater in males than females. Mean sport scores increased in both sexes from 10-18 years. Soccer was the most practiced sport among males, while swimming and soccer were the most practiced sports among females. Males participated in SP > 4 hours per week compared to 1-2 hours per week in females. High intensity sports were more prevalent among males, while sports of mid-level intensity were more prevalent among females. The majority of youth participate in sport more than 9 months of the year. CONCLUSION: SP is an important component of physical activity among Portuguese youth and has a relatively stable prevalence between 10-18 years.
Seabra et al. (Mon,) studied this question.