People who played sports during their school days tend to be fitter and more likely to keep up the sports habit than those who did not, a survey released by the Japan Sports Agency Sunday showed.

The survey found that there was a particularly large difference between those in their 20s and 30s who had sports experience during their school days and those who did not, though the gap narrowed with age.

The survey collected data on physical fitness, including grip strength and other parameters, from 59,444 people aged 6 to 79, from May to October last year, with the maximum total score being 60.

People in their 20s who played sports in junior high school through university achieved a higher score than people in the same age group who did not. The largest gap between them was 8.5 points in men in their early 20s and 6.4 points in women in their late 20s.

The gap shrank with age, but for both men and women in their 50s it was more than 2.5 points.

Of people in their 20s and 30s, the cohort where the gap was largest, 50.5 percent of those who belonged to sports clubs in their school days played sports more than once a week currently, while only 33 percent who did not had that habit.

The total score of men aged 6 to 19 has been on a declining trend in the past decade. There was no great change in the scores of people aged 20 to 64 and 65 to 79, but those for women in their 30s and 40s fell.

Sports experience in school days is an important factor indicating a person will continue playing sports and maintain physical strength for life, an agency official said.

“We will work on creating an environment in which everyone can play sports, regardless of gender or generation,” the official said. (PNA)