Non-organised extracurricular physical and sport practice: Gender, educational stage and physical activity index

Abstract

There are very few studies on the types of non-organised physical and sport practice outside the school setting. Therefore, this paper consisted of describing these activities and analysing their relationship with other variables: gender, educational stage and physical activity index. The research design was quantitative, cross-sectional and descriptive. It involved 1,040 students, 521 boys and 519 girls (M = 12.30; SD = 3.08) enrolled in 26 Galician schools and aged between 10 and 17. The International Questionnaire on Physical Education, Health and Lifestyle was administered. The results showed that the most popular activities were soccer, walking, cycling, basketball and running. Significant differences were found in some of the activities studied in terms of gender and school stage. The physical activity index was higher in boys and in primary students. Very low levels of physical activity were observed. Differences were also found between active and less active people in some of the sports. The information obtained helps to identify the features of how free time is spent in Galician society. This type of evidence makes it possible to address participation needs in childhood and adolescence better by enabling future actions in the community and sports management settings.