However, the study by University of Otago (Wellington) PhD student Tom Bergen also shows the level of physical activity among young people in New Zealand varies widely between socio-demographic groups, indicating the need to think about how physical activity is promoted.
Mr Bergen studied the physical activity of 6906 adolescents, aged 12-17 between 2017 and 2020, and analysed a range of factors related to the likelihood of teenagers continuing to be physically active in adulthood.
Factors included measures of the time spent on physical activities each week; the number of different activities and settings; the availability of physical activity options; the social support for being physically active; and their "physical literacy", based on their knowledge, confidence, competence and motivation to be active.
He said Māori and Pacific young people ranked highly on average, but Asian adolescents ranked the lowest across every category.
Mr Bergen said the finding that young Māori were the most physically active on a weekly basis showed health interventions based on physical activity, like community-based taonga tākaro traditional Māori games, could be an effective way of improving health and wellbeing.
Younger adolescents scored better than older teens, with a key transition point appearing at 14-15 years of age.
"It is during this period that the focus of organised sport often transitions from participating to winning, and the cost of sports club fees and equipment increases.
"Active transport behaviours change too, as older adolescents are expected to make their own way to school or work, and start to become independent car drivers."
Mr Bergen said the ways in which teenagers were physically active had a major influence on how active they would be later in their lives.
"Identifying the reasons behind why and how teens conduct the physical activity they do is really useful in promoting future participation and optimising their chances of gaining life-long wellbeing benefits."
He is now focusing on finding the key connections between the physical activity needs of different socio-demographic groups, so the most effective initiatives can be developed to improve future health and wellbeing.
"Our results show that a one-size-fits-all approach to improving participation rates is likely to have a limited impact.
"Instead, efforts to promote physical activity need to be wide ranging and tailored to address the needs of different groups.
"This may involve providing more support for locally-led initiatives, which give people the opportunity and resources to address their own physical activity needs," he said.
