AN ANALYSIS OF YOUTH PARTICIPATION IN SPORT, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, AND OUTDOOR RECREATION IN KING COUNTY
State of Play: Seattle-King County is a comprehensive, descriptive landscape analysis of regional trends, patterns, barriers and opportunities related to youth participation in sport, physical activity, and outdoor recreation.
Guided by a national framework created by the Aspen Institute, State of Play: Seattle-King County informs regional leaders, programs, and policies with the goal of improving equitable access to safe, fun physical activity that bolsters individual and community health and advancement.
Key Findings:
- Only 22% of boys and 16% of girls meed the CDC’s recommendation of 60 minutes of physical activity. This is below the national average, which is 35% of boys and 18% of girls, respectively.
- 11% of youth who don’t speak English at home meet CDC physical activity guidelines.
- 75% of youth from lower income households have participated in organized sport vs. 95% of more affluent peers
- Youth of color are less likely than white youth to participate in organized sports.
- Youth with disabilities don’t have enough programming/community to support physical activity.
Solutions:
- Empower schools to be a hub for physical activity.
- Develop creative transportation solutions.
- Create a a public health campaign focused on youth physical activity.
- Produce an equity toolkit for youth physical activity programs and policymakers.
- Build a quality rating portal for youth physical activity programs.
As a result of this report, the King County Play Equity Coalition was formed to spearhead actionable, game-changing solutions in the Seattle-King County area.
The King County Play Equity Coalition aims to increase the rates of King County youth meeting the CDC’s Physical Activity Guidelines through policies, programs, research, and information-sharing so that all youth have access to the mental, emotional, and physical benefits of movement.
RESOURCES AND MEDIA
- “New coalition to address lack of access, resources for youth physical activity in King County. University of Washington Press Release 9/10/19
- “Less than 19 percent of local youth get the recommended amount of exercise. A new community coalition supported by King County and University of Washington will change that.” King County Press Release 9/10/19
- “King County’s kids aren’t getting outside, new report shows. Here are the systemic reasons why.” – via the Seattle Times
- “Study: 1 in 5 King County kids getting recommended hour of activity per day” – via myNorthwest
- “Most kids in King County do not get enough exercise, according to a new UW study” – via KNKX
- “State of Play King Seattle-King County.” Aspen Institute posting
State of Play: Seattle-King County was funded by the University of Washington, King County Parks, the YMCA of Greater Seattle, Seattle Children’s Hospital, the Seattle Mariners, Kaiser Permanente, the Bezos Family Foundation, and evo, with in-kind contributions from Amazon.
