Young people´s physical activity during leisure time and ANTG use

An initial point of departure for the study was the declining alcohol consumption among students since the turn of the millennium. One of several reasons, for this decline that has been discussed, is increased health awareness (Caluzzi, MacLean, Livingston, & Pennay, 2021; Törrönen, Roumeliotis, Samuelsson, Kraus, & Room, 2019). Since our study is based on cross-sectional data (2023), we cannot analyze trends. The study is based on data from grade 9 (age 15-16) and 11 (age 17-18) students, with 5 151 respondents in grade 9 and 5 087 in grade 11.

Physical activity and alcohol consumption

We found no general support that students who are physically active seven hours or more per week are less likely to have consumed alcohol in the past 30 days, or to have monthly consumed alcohol heavily in the past year compared to those who are less physically active. The only exception in this group was among 9th-grade girls, who were less likely to engage in heavy drinking over the past year.

Physical activity in relation to smoking and gambling – different associations

A general pattern among both boys and girls in both grades is that those who are more physically active have a reduced probability of having smoked in the last 30 days. This implies a general knowledge among students about the negative effects of smoking on physical activity. The finding may seem obvious, but differs from, for example, alcohol, snuff, and vaping, where the connections were not as clear.

Students who are more physically active (seven hours or more per week) have an increased likelihood of gambling for money in the past 30 days. This relationship was significant for the students in grade 11 and among the girls in grade 9, but not among the boys in grade 9. Previous studies among elite athletes and students at national sports high schools in Sweden have shown a high prevalence of problem gambling, especially among boys (Vinberg, Durbeej, & Rosendahl, 2023). Our results indicate that the correlation between physical activity and gambling for money also applies to a representative sample of students in grade 9 and grade 11 and is thus not limited to students who are physically active at an elite level.

In the study, we found no general differences in having used snuff, having vaped/used e-cigarettes, or having used narcotics in the last 30 days related to physical activity. The exceptions are the boys in grade 11 who were less likely to have vaped/used e-cigarettes in the last 30 days given that they were more physically active. They were also less likely to have used narcotics in the past 30 days. However, it is important to keep in mind that few have reported narcotics use.

Physical activity – overall findings

Regarding physical activity among students, the results align with previous studies. Physical activity declines with increasing age (i.e. between grades) and boys are more physically active than girls. Additionally, students attending schools with a high proportion of parents holding university degrees tend to be more physically active. The study also shows that those who are physically active seven hours and more a week in their leisure time are more likely to be satisfied with their health and with themselves than those who are physically active less than seven hours per week. This result has also been shown in previous similar studies.

In summary, the study shows that physical activity during leisure time has a positive relation with being satisfied with one’s own health and with oneself. The study also shows that more physical activity (seven hours or more per week) is not necessarily linked to less occurrence of ANTG use. As for gambling for money, even, a higher use. Results thus show a complexity that should be considered in the preventive work.

The article is written by

Johan Svensson and

Tony Nilsson

The Swedish council for information on alcohol and other drugs (CAN).

References:

Caluzzi, G., MacLean, S., Livingston, M., & Pennay, A. (2021). “No one associates alcohol with being in good health”: Health and wellbeing as imperatives to manage alcohol use for young people. Sociology of Health & Illness, 43(2), 493-509.

Törrönen, J., Roumeliotis, F., Samuelsson, E., Kraus, L., & Room, R. (2019). Why are young people drinking less than earlier? Identifying and specifying social mechanisms with a pragmatist approach. International Journal of Drug Policy, 64, 13-20.

Vinberg, M., Durbeej, N., & Rosendahl, I. (2023). Young male athletes at risk for problem gambling: Findings from a cross‐sectional study in Sweden. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 64(6), 766-775.