Is your daughter trying to decide between joining basketball or band? A new study from the journal Preventive Medicine suggests that sports participation may help your daughter in terms of long-term weight management.

Researchers investigated whether participating in sports during childhood and adolescence had an effect on a person's weight, physical activity or diet. They interviewed almost 500 women about their past and current sports participation, physical activity and diet.

Although past sports participation didn't affect diet, women who participated in sports as youngsters generally had a lower body mass index (BMI) and got more physical activity than women who had not participated in sports. The researchers suggest that encouraging youth to participate in sports may be an important way to prevent them from becoming obese and to foster enjoyment of physical activity.

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Sources:  Alfano CM, Klesges RC, Murray DM, Beech BM, McClanahan BS. History of Sport Participation in Relation to Obesity and Related Health Behaviors in Women. Preventive Medicine, Volume 34, Number 1, January 2002.