Russell R. Pate, a professor of exercise science at the University of South Carolina School of Public Health in Columbia, analyzed results from a 1997 survey of high-school boys and girls by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"The generally positive relationships between sports participation and health behaviors suggest that physicians should actively encourage young people to take advantage of the opportunity to join sports teams," said Pate.

But Robert DuRant, vice chairman of pediatrics at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, cautioned that the study's findings do not necessarily indicate a cause-and-effect relationship. DuRant, who was not involved in the research, said that teens who participate in sports may just have less free time, and probably have parents who promote healthy behavior.

The study appears in the September issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, published by the American Medical Association.

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