A survey has shown that 80% of children and adolescents in our country regularly practice some kind of sport or physical activity outside school. However, men devote more time to this and the gender bias is even more pronounced, with a marked male predominance in competitive performance.
The data comes from the Survey on Sport and Physical Activity in Children, Children and Adolescents (NNYA), prepared by the Social Observatory of Sport, which is part of the Ministry of Tourism and Sport, together with the National University of San MartÃn (Ansum).
The questionnaire was administered to 1,000 boys and girls aged 6 to 17 from across the country between December 2021 and January 2022.
The aim of this survey – the first of its kind since 2009 – was “to find out how, where, in what ways, under what circumstances and why children and adolescents choose to engage in sport and physical activity in all regions of the country (or No) our country”, according to the ministry’s statement.
main results
The results show that eight out of ten regularly practice some sport or physical activity outside of school physical education classes; But girls and boys do more in primary school (84.5%) than at secondary school age (74.2%).
On the other hand, exercise is diligent as 30.7% dedicate it twice a week; 35.4% three times; And there are many more people who attend four or more times a week (24.7%) than those who attend only once a week.
The general average for practicing sports and physical activity is 3 hours 40 minutes per week.
favourite sport
Football is the most practiced sport: one in three boys and girls play it (32.8%), surpassing activities that follow it in the call, such as cycling (15.8%) and martial arts (8.4%).
Among males, the dominant practice is football in its various forms (baby, room, eleven), as one in two boys and male adolescents practice it (50.9%), cycling (14, 5%), martial arts far behind (9.7%) and basketball (7.7%)
On the other hand, among women, the choice is more diverse, seconding since: “riding a bicycle” (15.9%) is the main activity followed by football (13.1%), followed by gymnastics (12.3%), volleyball (11%) ), skateboarding (9.8%), swimming (8.4%) and hockey (8.1%).
The official report states, “In this sense, it is a challenge for managers of children’s sport, both state and private, to break inherited inertia regarding ‘male’ and ‘female’ practices.”
However, he added that “there are some positive signs of progress on the issue” especially in the context of football, “a sport historically practiced by men in our country” which today “shows a high level of female participation”. , to the extent that it is a collective sport performed by girls and adolescents”.
On the other hand, clubs are the most preferred place to practice sports and physical activity among people aged 6 to 17 in Argentina: it is the first choice for 48.9% and, if this percentage is added to those who Taking this as a secondary option, it has been found that 61% of children and adolescents visit these places.
Public places such as squares and parks are in second place, but if those who choose them as a second option are considered, they are the places where more children and adolescents practice (75%). The third place of preference is held by private sports facilities (16.6%).
they are more competitive
With regard to competition, the numbers show that most exercise for recreational purposes (59.2% do it that way only), although there is a significant 29.9% who choose to do it both recreationally and competitively, and 10, 9% only do it competitively.
“As with other variables, there is a marked difference in reading by gender, with women showing a more pronounced tendency to engage in recreational exercise than men,” the report said.
is that while 71.7% of them said that they do sports or physical activity only for fun, the incidence among men was 48.2%, which means that “there are more men who do not compete, while among women the opposite happens.
On the other hand, 55.7% are paid to do sports and physical activity, while 42% do it for free and the remaining 2.3% do both. (DIB)
