Playing high school sports may be tied to older men's good health

Article here. Excerpt:

'Playing varsity sports in high school appears to be an important link to health after age 70, according to a new study by Swiss and U.S. researchers.

Researchers examined the backgrounds, behaviours and personalities of a group of men over 70 who had previously passed a strenuous physical exam more than 50 years earlier when they were screened for military duty in the U.S.

Though the study is limited in variety — for example, the subjects are all men from the U.S. and from a narrow social and ethnic group — it marks what researchers say is the first long-term study of childhood exercise and its correlation to health over a long period of time.
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In total, 712 Second World War veterans, averaging age 78, participated in the study. They had answered the survey back in 2000 but the data was not analyzed until 2012.

At the time the men were screened for military duty, 47 per cent of the U.S. population had been precluded due to malnutrition, physical problems or illiteracy. Those who did make it into the service were considered the cream of the crop, so to speak.
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Researchers discovered a strong correlation between those who played high school sports and were non-smokers, and their good health later in life.

The study urges "school-based organized sports ... be preserved because they contribute to later physical activity levels" and better health.

They concluded that "relatively vigorous exercise and physical education classes could be promoted across grade levels [and] they need not concentrate on competition but rather on enjoyment."'