Extracurricular activities for physical activity
Extracurricular sports or after-school athletic activities provide opportunities for children and adolescents to play soccer, tennis, baseball, softball, volleyball, football, basketball, and various other sports at beginner, intermediate, and competitive levels. Activities are offered at differing skill levels to encourage participation regardless of skill. Before and after school programs can also include physical activity components such as dance, fitness breaks, or physically active games, often as part of healthy out of school time initiatives.
Expected Beneficial Outcomes (Rated)
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Increased physical activity
Other Potential Beneficial Outcomes
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Improved physical fitness
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Reduced obesity rates
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Increased academic achievement
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Reduced arrests
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Reduced teen pregnancy
Evidence of Effectiveness
There is some evidence that increasing access to extracurricular sports, athletic activities, and active after school programs increases children’s physical activity during leisure time, especially when offered as part of a multi-component physical activity promotion program (Verstraete 2007, Wolch J, Jerrett M, Reynolds K, et al. Childhood obesity and proximity to urban parks and recreational resources: A longitudinal cohort study. Health & Place. 2011;17(1):207-14.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Wolch 2011, Lubans D, Morgan P. Evaluation of an extra-curricular school sport programme promoting lifestyle and lifetime activity for adolescents. Journal of Sports Sciences. 2008;26(5):519–29.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Lubans 2008, Ara 2006, Cameron C, Wolfe R, Craig C. Physical activity and sport: Encouraging children to be active. Ottawa, CAN: Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute (CFLRI); 2005.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)CFLRI-Cameron 2005, Beets MW, Huberty J, Beighle A. Systematic observation of physical activity in afterschool programs: Preliminary findings from Movin' Afterschool intervention. Journal of Physical Activity & Health. 2013;10(7):974-981.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Beets 2013, CDC PRC-YMCA afterschool, Barr-Anderson 2014). However, additional evidence is needed to confirm effects.
Participation in extracurricular sports and activities is associated with higher physical activity levels for children and adolescents (Cameron C, Wolfe R, Craig C. Physical activity and sport: Encouraging children to be active. Ottawa, CAN: Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute (CFLRI); 2005.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)CFLRI-Cameron 2005, Lubans D, Morgan P. Evaluation of an extra-curricular school sport programme promoting lifestyle and lifetime activity for adolescents. Journal of Sports Sciences. 2008;26(5):519–29.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Lubans 2008). Access to publicly provided recreation programs can reduce children’s risk of overweight and obesity (Wolch J, Jerrett M, Reynolds K, et al. Childhood obesity and proximity to urban parks and recreational resources: A longitudinal cohort study. Health & Place. 2011;17(1):207-14.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Wolch 2011). Overall, low income, public high school students in urban areas that participate in athletics (except football) have lower BMIs than their peers (Elkins 2004). Participation in at least three hours of sports per week appears to increase physical activity levels (Jago 2014), fitness, and total lean body mass for boys (Ara 2006).
Overall, physical activity interventions during school hours have been shown to increase the duration of participants’ physical activity and reduce time spent watching television. Such interventions can also increase physical activity rates in some circumstances. However, additional evidence is needed to confirm effects of such interventions on physical activity during out of school time (Dobbins M, Husson H, DeCorby K, LaRocca RL. School-based physical activity programs for promoting physical activity and fitness in children and adolescents aged 6 to 18. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2013;(2):CD007651.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Cochrane-Dobbins 2013).
Extracurricular physical activity programs are also positively associated with strong academic performance (CDC-School PA 2010), low juvenile arrest rates, and low teen birth rates (Cohen DA, Taylor SL, Zonta M, Vestal KD, Schuster MA. Availability of high school extracurricular sports programs and high-risk behaviors. Journal of School Health. 2007;77(2):80–6.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Cohen 2007).
Impact on Disparities
No impact on disparities likely
Implementation Examples
Efforts to increase extracurricular physical activities for youth can be part of broad community initiatives that encompass policy, systems, and environmental changes, as in Hamilton County, OH (WeThrive-Community wellness) or programmatic efforts, as in the YMCA Afterschool Food and Fitness Project (CDC PRC-YMCA afterschool). Extracurricular activities, sports leagues, or active after school programs can be run by schools, non-profit organizations, local YMCA or JCC chapters, or parks and recreation departments (US ED-21st Century CLC, YMCA-Sports, JCC-Fitness, NRPA-Recreation and health).
Many national non-profits provide resources and tools to encourage after school programs to adopt healthy out of school time practices, including increased opportunities for physical activity, for example the National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST-Healthy OST), Healthy Kids Out of School (Healthy Kids-OST), and the Bright Futures child health promotion initiative (Bright Futures-Extracurricular PA).
Professional sports leagues have also developed youth programs and initiatives to increase extracurricular physical activities and sports participation, for example Major League Baseball (MLB-Youth programs), the National Football League (NDC-Play 60), and the National Basketball Association (NBA WNBA-FIT).
Implementation Resources
LHC-Rockeymoore 2014 - Rockeymoore M, Moscetti C, Fountain A. Rural Childhood Obesity Prevention Toolkit. Leadership for Healthy Communities (LHC), Center for Global Policy Solutions, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. 2014.
AFHG-Physical activities - Alliance for a Healthier Generation (AFHG). Physical activities: Activities during the school day and out of school time activities.
HOST-PA - Healthy Out-of-School Time (HOST) Coalition. Resources: Physical activity (PA).
WeThrive-Toolbox - WeThrive!, Hamilton County Public Health. Toolbox and resources used as part of the WeThrive! initiative.
Citations - Evidence
* Journal subscription may be required for access.
Wolch 2011* - Wolch J, Jerrett M, Reynolds K, et al. Childhood obesity and proximity to urban parks and recreational resources: A longitudinal cohort study. Health & Place. 2011;17(1):207-14.
Cochrane-Dobbins 2013* - Dobbins M, Husson H, DeCorby K, LaRocca RL. School-based physical activity programs for promoting physical activity and fitness in children and adolescents aged 6 to 18. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2013;(2):CD007651.
Verstraete 2007 - Verstraete SJM, Cardon GM, De Clercq DLR, De Bourdeaudhuij IMM. A comprehensive physical activity promotion programme at elementary school: The effects on physical activity, physical fitness and psychosocial correlates of physical activity. Public Health Nutrition. 2007;10(5):477–84.
CFLRI-Cameron 2005* - Cameron C, Wolfe R, Craig C. Physical activity and sport: Encouraging children to be active. Ottawa, CAN: Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute (CFLRI); 2005.
Elkins 2004 - Elkins WL, Cohen DA, Koralewicz LM, Taylor SN. After school activities, overweight, and obesity among inner city youth. Journal of Adolescence. 2004;27(2):181–9.
Ara 2006 - Ara I, Vicente-Rodriguez G, Perez-Gomez J, et al. Influence of extracurricular sport activities on body composition and physical fitness in boys: A 3-year longitudinal study. International Journal of Obesity. 2006;30(7):1062–71.
CDC-School PA 2010 - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The association between school-based physical activity, including physical education, and academic performance. Atlanta: US Department of Health and Human Services (US DHHS); 2010.
Cohen 2007* - Cohen DA, Taylor SL, Zonta M, Vestal KD, Schuster MA. Availability of high school extracurricular sports programs and high-risk behaviors. Journal of School Health. 2007;77(2):80–6.
Lubans 2008* - Lubans D, Morgan P. Evaluation of an extra-curricular school sport programme promoting lifestyle and lifetime activity for adolescents. Journal of Sports Sciences. 2008;26(5):519–29.
Beets 2013* - Beets MW, Huberty J, Beighle A. Systematic observation of physical activity in afterschool programs: Preliminary findings from Movin' Afterschool intervention. Journal of Physical Activity & Health. 2013;10(7):974-981.
Barr-Anderson 2014 - Barr-Anderson DJ, Singleton C, Cotwright CJ, Floyd MF, Affuso O. Outside-of-school time obesity prevention and treatment interventions in African American youth. Obesity Reviews. 2014;15(4):26-45.
Jago 2014 - Jago R, Sebire SJ, Davies B, et al. Randomised feasibility trial of a teaching assistant led extracurricular physical activity intervention for 9 to 11 year olds: Action 3:30. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. 2014;11:114.
CDC PRC-YMCA afterschool - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Prevention Research Centers (PRC). Changes in YMCA afterschool programs increase children's physical activity and healthy food options.
Citations - Implementation Examples
* Journal subscription may be required for access.
NRPA-Recreation and health - National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA). Recreation and health.
US ED-21st Century CLC - US Department of Education (US ED). 21st Century community learning centers (CLC).
YMCA-Sports - Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA). Swim, sports & play.
WeThrive-Community wellness - WeThrive!, Hamilton County Public Health. WeThrive! Community wellness in action.
JCC-Fitness - Jewish Community Center Association (JCC), DiscoverJCC.com. Programs and services at JCCs of North America: Health & fitness.
NDC-Play 60 - National Dairy Council (NDC), National Football League (NFL). Fuel up to play 60: 2015-2016 Playbook.
CDC PRC-YMCA afterschool - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Prevention Research Centers (PRC). Changes in YMCA afterschool programs increase children's physical activity and healthy food options.
Healthy Kids-OST - Healthy Kids Out of School, Child Obesity 180, Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. Healthy out-of-school time for a healthy future.
NIOST-Healthy OST - National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST), The Y (YMCA), University of Massachusetts Boston College of Nursing and Health Sciences. Healthy out-of-school time (OST).
Bright Futures-Extracurricular PA - Bright Futures at Georgetown University. Bright Futures in practice: Physical activity tool D: Characteristics of excellent physical activity programs for children and adolescents.
MLB-Youth programs - Major League Baseball, Boys & Girls Clubs of America. MLB youth baseball programs and initiatives.
NBA WNBA-FIT - National Basketball Association, Women's National Basketball Association. NBA/WNBA FIT program: Be active, eat healthy, play together.
Date Last Updated
- Scientifically Supported: Strategies with this rating are most likely to make a difference. These strategies have been tested in many robust studies with consistently positive results.
- Some Evidence: Strategies with this rating are likely to work, but further research is needed to confirm effects. These strategies have been tested more than once and results trend positive overall.
- Expert Opinion: Strategies with this rating are recommended by credible, impartial experts but have limited research documenting effects; further research, often with stronger designs, is needed to confirm effects.
- Insufficient Evidence: Strategies with this rating have limited research documenting effects. These strategies need further research, often with stronger designs, to confirm effects.
- Mixed Evidence: Strategies with this rating have been tested more than once and results are inconsistent or trend negative; further research is needed to confirm effects.
- Evidence of Ineffectiveness: Strategies with this rating are not good investments. These strategies have been tested in many robust studies with consistently negative and sometimes harmful results.