School Athletes Less Likely to Smoke: Study

Young Americans who participate in high school team sports or individual physical activity are less likely to smoke than their classmates, says a University of Pennsylvania study, which found this effect lasts for at least three years after high school graduation.

Researchers followed 985 young people from grade 12 through the third year after graduation from high school, finding that participation in high school team sports reduced the likelihood of smoking by 18 percent and individual physical activity reduced it by 12 percent.

Both forms of activity reduced the risk of smoking by improving young peoples' perception of their physical self, the researchers said. Team sports also reduced contact with peers who smoke.

Another study by the same researchers found that participation in team sports in grade 10 reduced the risk of smoking in grade 11 by 5 percent. In this study of 384 students, the reduced likelihood of smoking was due to an increased feeling of competence in their sport and fewer depressive symptoms in students who were on teams.

"Most smoking initiation occurs during adolescence. So, if you can make it out of that adolescent period, and you have a sport to buffer you from smoking during that period, you're pretty safe," study author Daniel Rodriguez, research assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, said in a prepared statement.

The studies were to be presented at a meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.

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