Gender– and educational level–based differences in physical activity and sedentary behaviors of young people according to their (non)participation in organized sport

This study examines gender- and educational level-based differences in young people's physical activity (PA) and different leisure-time sedentary behaviors (LTSB) according to their (non)participation in organized sport. 1968 participants (<i>M</i>_<i>age</i> = 12.1 years; 48.1% girls; 42.6% secondary school) self-reported their PA and LTSB through the PAQ and the YLSBQ, respectively, during May and June 2021. Gender (boys vs. girls) and educational level (primary vs. secondary) differences were assessed using analyses of covariance. Findings revealed that boys and girls who participated in organized sport reported higher PA than their non-participating peers. Participating boys and girls spent less time on screens and total sedentary time (ST) than their non-participant peers. Participating girls also spent less time socializing and in other sedentary activities than non-participant girls. Primary and secondary students who engaged in organized sport showed higher PA than their non-participant peers. In comparison with their non-participant peers, participating primary students spent less time on academic tasks and total ST, while participating secondary students spent less time on screens and total ST. Therefore, participation in organized sport appears not only to increase PA in both genders and educational stages but also to decrease some LTSB in a gender- and educational-level-specific way.