Tenth International Conference on Sport & Society

Abstract

The world is facing an unprecedented epidemic of physical inactivity in children and adolescents, which is a major risk factor for non-communicable diseases in young and old generations. This article summarizes the results from 3 econometric studies based on data in Taiwanese adolescents. The interventions to promote physical activity in Asian youth are suggested according to these results. Study 1 suggested that school in the neighborhood is the most important environmental factor for physical activity in Asian cities. After controlling for the endogeneity by adopting a treatment effect model, we showed that the adolescents who usually exercised at schools had 152% higher physical activity than those who did not. Study 2 found an endogenous relationship between obesity and physical activity. This relationship indicated a vicious circle in which lower levels of physical activity leads to overweight, while those who are already overweight engage in less physical activity. Study 3 showed that meeting the physical activity guidelines in Taiwan significantly reduced the risk of obesity and underweight in boys but not girls. The potential interventions in Asian cities to promote physical activity include to provide more organized after-school programs such as sport teams or clubs using the school facilities; to provide appropriate counseling programs and peer support to those who are overweight and obese to break the vicious circle; to emphasize on the frequency of participation in physical activity, rather than its total amount, in order to prevent obesity in girls.