1 | 15 Synthesis only for women and negative correlations for men, and (Shaw et al., 2010) found that, on average, rates of leisure-time physical activity increased within younger adults (between age 25 and 41) and decreased within middleaged (between age 45 and 61) and older adults (between age 65 and 81). Additionally, results for longitudinal and cohort sequence analyses showed that declining sport participation by age may to a significant degree reflect a cohort effect rather than an age effect (Breuer & Wicker, 2009; Lunn, 2010). Table 1.1 Differences in sport participation rates by age group AT LEAST 12 TIMES A YEAR(a) Age group 6 to 11 years 12 to 19 years 20 to 34 years 35 to 54 years 55 to 64 years 65 to 79 years 80 years and older % 92 87 77 74 69 63 35 CLUB MEMBERSHIP(a) Age group 6 to 11 years 12 to 19 years 20 to 34 years 35 to 54 years 55 to 64 years 65 years and older % 80 56 27 22 18 17 AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK(b) Age group % 4 to 11 years 12 to 17 years 18 to 64 years 65 years and older 64,5 69,9 56,9 37,8 Sources: (a) Vrijetijdsomnibus (VTO) 2018 (The Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP) & Statistics Netherlands, 2018b), (b) Gezondheidsenquête/Leefstijlmonitor 2020 (Statistics Netherlands & RIVM, 2020) So, although age is recognised as a crucial determinant, especially from a lifecourse perspective (Breuer & Pawlowski, 2011; Hovemann & Wicker, 2009), the relationship between age and sport participation is not as evident and much more ambiguous as suggested by the abundance of cross-sectional studies. In addition, age as a determinant is better understood by seeing it as a proxy variable, indicating all potential age-related influences on sport participation (Breuer & Pawlowski, 2011; Breuer & Wicker, 2009; Hovemann & Wicker, 2009). From a socioeconomical approach, four different age-related factors can be differentiated (Breuer & Pawlowski, 2011): changes in physical (decreasing health and fitness by age), mental (changing motivation by age), social (changing norms and support by age) and economic resources (agerelated changes in individual time and financial budgets). Nevertheless, most studies on sport, physical activity and aging still just focus on age as a proxy and contribute only by detecting correlations (Breuer & Pawlowski, 2011). To get a better understanding of sport participation from a life-course perspective, the proxy-variable age should be studied in more detail (Breuer & Wicker, 2008). A more substantive interpretation of age factors can be provided
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