Study Aims to Understand Teen Inactivity

Simply thinking they're "just not athletic" could be keeping "couch-potato" kids rooted to the sofa.

"People tend to limit their activity level based on how they see themselves athletically," said CNRC behavioral scientist Dr. Cheryl Braselton Anderson. "To do vigorous exercise, like running, swimming, or cycling, or any type of physical activity, you have to see yourself as a person who does these things."

Anderson believes that the tendency to be active (or inactive) is maintained by a feedback loop, with people's "athletic identity" determining what activities they do, and the activities they do influencing how they see themselves.

"People who develop a positive athletic identity are more likely to stay active over the years, while having a poor athletic identity is related to inactivity," said Anderson, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine.

Anderson also believes that individuals who have a positive athletic identity likely developed it in childhood or adolescence.

To test her theories, Anderson is launching a 4-year study that will follow over 900 middle school students as they make the transition to high school. Research shows this period tends to coincide with a marked drop in kids' level of physical activity. The study will measure whether the teens' athletic self-perceptions change over time and if so, what influences this.

The study is being funded by a $1.2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute/National Institutes of Health, where increasing physical activity and decreasing sedentary behavior has become a research priority.

Anderson hopes the study's findings will eventually lead to more school and community-based programs that help less athletically talented children develop more positive athletic identities.

"To change ingrained identities like "I'm a poor student" or "I'm not athletic," kids need the opportunity to have positive experiences," she said. "Although I'm a big supporter of team and individual competitive sports, not everyone can be on the 'A team' or the 'B team'. We have to make a place for all kids."

Anderson also believes that children need to know they can be physically active without being a star athlete.

"Kids have to know it's OK to run slow and OK to be the last one," she said. "They don't have to be Lance Armstrong to ride a bicycle."