The Effect of High School Sports Participation on Collegiate Level Physical Fitness and Physical Activity

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of high school (HS) sports participation on physical fitness (PF) and physical activity (PA) levels in college among males and females. METHODS: 113 students (50 males, 63 females) enrolled in a university level wellness class participated in the study. Participants completed a PF battery consisting of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), muscular endurance (ME), body composition (BC) and flexibility (FX) assessments. In addition, they completed a survey to determine HS sports participation (collegiate athletes were excluded). Self-reported PA levels were assessed to determine current PA status. Normally distributed values (CRF, BC, FX) are summarized as mean+ or -SD; skewed values (ME) are summarized using median values (25 super(th),75 super(th) IQR). ANOVAs were used to compare main and interaction effects of gender and HS sports participation on CRF, BC, and FX; a Kruskal-Wallis test was used for ME. Activity levels by gender and HS sports participation were compared using Chi-Square Tests of Independence. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences in PF measures between HS athletes and non-athletes among genders. (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae and/or non-USASCII text omitted) Statistically significant gender differences were observed for each PF measure except ME (males > CRF; females > BC, FX, each p < .001) and males tended to be less active than females in this study (p = .006). Furthermore, it appeared that male HS non-athletes tended to be less active than either female HS athletes or non-athletes, as well as male HS athletes (p = .024). CONCLUSION: The lack of statistically significant differences between PF measures of HS athletes and non-athletes in college may be due to the relatively homogenous fitness levels of students in this study.