Posted by
Umit Gokce
on
Mar 24th, 2008
In 2006, a worldwide survey conducted by UK based Tesco Ltd. asked 3,500 children aged 7-16 their opinions on playing sports.
When finding out what motivates kids to play sports, perhaps not surprisingly, most children play first and foremost to have fun. Sociability was high on the list, setting “Make friends” as the #3 motivator.Keeping fit was the second most important factor in playing sports, but some cultural differences showed through. 83% of young Chinese do sports to stay healthy compared with just 43% in the US. Stress management turned out to be a significant motivator in playing sports, especially for teenagers. With increasingly difficult school work, social challenges, and the general pressure of the teen years, sports can be viewed by many to be the answer to stress. The figures went up dramatically for 15-16 year olds in most countries. Interestingly, considering current global obesity issues, losing weight was the motivation voted for least.
