The Forgotten Group: A Call to Focus on Early Adulthood in Sport and Physical Activity Policy and Research

Abstract

Early adulthood, defined here as the mid-20s to mid-30s, is increasingly recognized as a life phase in which long-term habits and routines associated with family, work, health, and leisure are consolidated and renegotiated. In the context of wider social and economic change, significant transitions such as parenthood, partnership, career establishment, and permanent housing, considered milestones of adulthood, are increasingly occurring at this age. Yet early adulthood has received limited attention in sport and physical activity (PA) research and policy. In this commentary, we review examples of population-level PA surveys (Aotearoa NZ, Australia, Canada, and the U.K.) to show that early adults are rarely distinguished from the broader, all-encompassing adult category (18–65) or targeted in policy or intervention design. We argue that overlooking this stage leaves a conceptual and policy gap. Drawing on illustrative examples from four national policies and relevant literature, this commentary calls for researchers to recognize early adulthood as a distinctive life phase shaped by transition, reconfiguration, and consolidation. A stronger focus on this period may offer important insights into how PA behaviors are experienced, sustained, adapted, or discontinued across the life course.

Keywords

early adulthood physical activity sport policy

Introduction

Increasing physical activity (PA) and sports participation has been a key strategy of governmental policy and research over recent decades. In this article, PA is used as an overarching term to include both organized sport and more informal or lifestyle-based participation, while recognizing that these may be captured differently within policy and survey data. Often, the focus in policy and research is on key groups such as children, adolescents, and/or adults (Gelius et al., 2020). Despite sustained policy attention to increasing participation, the life-course assumptions underpinning these strategies remain underexamined. Here, we make a case for the importance of considering early adults, defined here as mid-20s to mid-30s, as a demographic that is overlooked in policy and research. Early adulthood has been reshaped by wider social and economic shifts, including longer periods in education, delayed career establishment, and later transitions into partnership and parenthood. While youth remains an important life phase for developing skills and habits, early adulthood represents a distinct stage in which these earlier experiences may be renegotiated within new social and structural contexts, often alongside the emergence of more established routines and responsibilities. Transitions into employment, partnership, parenthood, and/or financial independence may not necessarily replace formative influences, but are likely to reshape how participation is maintained, adapted, or discontinued. While early adulthood may not be the primary site of behavioral formation (this typically occurs in earlier life stages), it is a period in which previously developed dispositions and patterns are renegotiated, reconfigured, and embedded within changing social and structural contexts. Participation may shift again in later adulthood, but herein we argue that early adulthood is a phase during which routines are disrupted and reshaped in response to new responsibilities and constraints. To date, we know very little about early adulthood and PA.

In this commentary, we first draw on literature beyond sport and PA to frame early adulthood as a distinct life phase. We then examine four national policy contexts (Aotearoa New Zealand, England, Australia, and Canada) as illustrative and comparable examples from Western policy settings. The countries are chosen because they are all in English language, and with broadly similar approaches to sport and PA policy and data collection. We then turn to outline possible reasons for the limited attention given to this group across such policy documents. This allows us to consider how policy definitions of “adulthood” align with, or overlook, insights from life-course research. We conclude by highlighting the need for greater research and policy focus on PA during early adulthood.

Conceptualizing Early Adulthood

Historically, focusing on young adults (16–25) was common in literature, as this was the time of life when adulthood was rapidly approaching, and lifestyles were solidified by the mid-20s. According to Skirbekk et al. (2025), during the mid-twentieth century, leaving home, getting married, having children, and starting work were major socially constructed milestones expected at this age. Researchers refer to this as a time of life when independence was achieved (or is expected to be achieved), such as moving out of the parental home and becoming financially responsible (Bonnie et al., 2014; Crawford, 2007). According to many governments, adulthood begins at 18, with rights to vote, accountability in the justice system, and independence in adult life (Hamilton, 2016; Icenogle et al., 2019). However, in contemporary society, many young adults are struggling to gain this independence (Keldal & Şeker, 2022). The social and economic pressures on young adults are evolving alongside changing economies and various other shifts in society. Financial security and living situation, along with many traditional discourses of “achieving adulthood,” are now commonly experienced later (Wright & von Stumm, 2025).

Moreover, Bonnie et al. (2014) indicate that the establishment of consistent behaviors, lifestyles, and habits characterizes this period, although such patterns are shaped by earlier experiences and evolving structural conditions. Health behaviors may become less influenced by family lifestyle and increasingly by peers and wider society (e.g., media discourse), potentially reshaping the form or context of participation. Life course literature from Arnett (2015) and Mehta et al. (2020) suggests that “emerging adulthood” marks the transition from adolescence into adulthood and typically occurs between 18 and 25 (with some recent consideration of up to 29, though literature is limited).

The transitional phase between adolescence and adulthood (“emerging adulthood”) has received increasing attention in the literature (Agans & Lerner, 2024; da-Silva-Domingues et al., 2022; Vanhelst et al., 2023). The following phase of life, which Mehta et al. (2020) argues is missing from the literature, is referred to as “established adulthood” (30–45). This term implies that once an individual reaches 30, their behaviors and lives become more stable, although this stability is neither universal nor fixed. Established adulthood is a relatively new concept in literature (Mehta et al., 2020), with limited evidence of its usefulness. Nevertheless, the emergence of this terminology reflects growing recognition within life-course research that transitions into adulthood are increasingly extended, uneven, and shaped by changing social and economic conditions.

While a range of terminology has been used (e.g., emerging established and young adult), herein we focus on the period of life as “early adulthood” (25–35 years). Recent literature highlights the importance of this phase of life in reconfiguring habits and routines. For example, in the U.S.A., the average age of first marriage is reported as 28 to 31, with a trend of increasing age over the past decades (Julian, 2022). Wright and von Stumm (2025) report that the average age of first children in the U.K. has changed from 26 in 1970 to 31 in 2019. Together, these trends reflect broader changes in factors like education, employment, and family formation, which have contributed to extending and reshaping the experience of early adulthood. Additionally, the phenomenon “Quarter-life crisis” is understood as a period of stress regarding the uncertainty of “becoming an adult” in current society and is reported to occur between mid to late 20s (Hasyim et al., 2024). Such statistics evidence the complex realities of “early adulthood” in uncertain societies. However, this growing recognition is not reflected in sport and PA research and policy, where early adulthood remains largely overlooked. Much of the existing literature reflects a Western bias and uses population averages; however, early adult experiences vary across cultures, with differing timelines for reaching adult milestones.

The social pressures, norms, and expectations placed on individuals within this stage of life are often contradictory, complex, and evolving. Bjorklund and Earles (2014) recognize that chronological age is a defining and important factor relating to social norms; there is limited acceptance of social age, for instance, postgraduate students in their late 20s are not expected to differ from long-term employees. In contrast, Bonnie et al. (2014) suggest that the changes in life course around this age can be attributed to an increase in individualism, social norms, and expectations that allow for a broader range of acceptable lifestyle choices. For example, having a child out of wedlock is no longer stigmatized in many Western societies. Keldal and Şeker (2022) support this finding and acknowledge that shifting social norms and economic pressures are prompting emerging and early adults to delay or forgo traditional milestones of adulthood (i.e., marriage, mortgage, and permanent job). Such conflicting realities evidence the experiences faced by early adults, and without further insights into the everyday lives and lived experiences of this population, such contradictions are likely to remain. Taken together, this literature suggests that early adulthood is characterized by ongoing negotiation between personal goals, social expectations, and structural constraints, in which periods of instability and transition coexist with emerging patterns of routine and consolidation.

Here, we have provided an overview of literature that conceptualizes early adulthood as a life phase, with a focus on transitions, social roles, and changing responsibilities. This is not a new stage of life; we acknowledge the transition into adulthood as one that has existed throughout history, evolving alongside economies, social, cultural and contextual factors, and health technologies. Of course, the opportunities and challenges facing young and early adults vary considerably across and within countries, based on class or socioeconomic factors, as well as gender, race and ethnicity, disability, and other important variables. The key point here is that the milestones, social norms, and experiences associated with early adulthood are changing across generations. Expectations to “settle down” or “get a real job” are often felt later, with employment and housing increasingly difficult. We identify a gap that PA research and policy have not yet addressed.

Mind the Gap: Searching for Early Adults (25–35) in Physical Activity Policy and Statistics

Herein we review current PA policies and surveys in Aotearoa New Zealand, England, Australia, and Canada as illustrative and comparable Western policy contexts. In doing so, we consider how age groups are defined, whether 25- to 35-year-olds are identified as a distinct group, and the extent to which “early adults” as a life phase is addressed within policy priorities.

Aotearoa New Zealand Policy

Aotearoa New Zealand's sport and PA policies center youth while only nominally addressing adults as a broad category. The National Physical Activity and Play Plan positions tamariki (children 5–11) and rangatahi (youth 12–17) as the strategic center for increasing participation, with the assumption that activity begun in youth will track into adulthood (Sport NZ, 2023a, 2023b). Although the large national survey, Active NZ, reports trends for adults (18+) and recognizes 25 to 34 as a distinct adult subgroup, its priority emphasis remains on tamariki and rangatahi, and adult subgroups with the lowest participation in relation to guidelines (e.g., females; people with disabilities) (Sport NZ, 2023a, 2023b). As a result, early adulthood (25–35), a formative period for long-term behavior patterns, features in categorization but not in focused insight or strategy (Sport NZ, 2023a, 2023b). Wilson et al. (2023) highlighted the need for policy to broaden its focus, using Active NZ data to examine the behaviors of young adults (18–24), but their analyses did not extend to include early adults.

England Policy

Sport England positions children and young people as their core priority, with 5 to 18 the key age range and sometimes focus extending to 16 to 24. However, attention rarely extends beyond age 25. Like Aotearoa New Zealand, 25 to 34 is reported as a subgroup in the Active Lives survey (Sport England, 2024) but without in-depth analysis. Age categories are sometimes presented as 16 to 34 or split into 16 to 24 and 25 to 34, with limited rationale provided for the variation (Sport England, 2024). Nationally, the “Everybody Active, Every Day” campaign recognizes the impact structural factors, specifically workplace and environment, have on activity, generating awareness that behaviors are shaped by context (Public Health England, 2021). However, the strategy tends to frame adult health as a matter of individual responsibility (Department of Health, 2010; Ward, 2015).

Sport England (2024) provides a single insight into the early adult subgroup, which goes beyond presenting the percentage meeting PA guidelines, focusing on volunteering in sport. The report shows that early adults’ volunteering hours are low, comparable to those aged 65+, which highlights significant engagement gaps during this life stage. These gaps may reflect life phase factors that influence participation, supporting Nomaguchi and Milkie's (2020) understanding that this life phase is one with limited leisure time.

Australian Policy

Australia does not have a single-policy approach to improve PA. The two key policies, Sport 2030 and the National Preventive Health Strategy, repeatedly highlight children, youth, and university-aged populations as focal groups (Australian Government, 2018; Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, 2021). Population statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) report 25 to 34 as a standard adult category, yet policy narratives rarely consider this life stage or provide insights into this subgroup (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2022). An insight offered from ABS shows the spike in occupational sitting time, beginning at 25 to 34 and remaining high through adulthood before declining after 65, suggesting the workplace as a key structural driver of inactivity through adulthood (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2022). Although they have offered this insight into early adults’ policy aimed directly at understanding, intervening in, or changing behaviors at this life stage is underdeveloped (Australian Government, 2018; Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, 2021).

Canadian Policy

The Canadian policy, “A Common Vision: Let's Get Moving,” has one strand that takes a life-course perspective. In so doing, it seeks to influence social norms around movement across all ages, aiming to change attitudes alongside behaviors (Public Health Agency of Canada, 2018). Although the Canadian Sport Policy (2025–2035) offers a recent framework for sport development, early adulthood is not explicitly identified as a distinct life phase within its priorities (Federal- Provincial-Territorial Sport Committee, 2025). However, national population level statistics use varying age bands when reporting adult participation, which complicates efforts to define early adulthood as a distinct life phase. For example, the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute commonly use the 18 to 39 age bracket for PA reporting, whereas sports participation data adopt a 25 to 44 grouping (Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute, 2024; Statistics Canada, 2021). While it is positive to see that Canadian sport and PA policies are acknowledging social norms and realities of distinctive life phases when aiming to increase population-level PA, the lack of consistent age categorization can make it difficult to identify and address any specific transitional challenges of adults aged 25 to 35.

This brief overview of four examples of publicly available national sport and PA policies and statistics highlights a consistent pattern. While early adults appear within survey categories and are often absorbed into a broader working-adult focus, this life phase is rarely addressed directly within policy priorities. Although data on this age group is being collected, it appears to be rarely analyzed in depth. Taken together, these illustrative examples point to a gap between policy focus and life-phase research that could offer new insights into broader patterns in lifelong PA practices.

Reviewing Sport and Physical Activity Priority Groups

Policy, literature, and strategy aimed at creating positive experiences of PA and sport to encourage lifelong participation consistently focus on children and youth (Green, 2014; Macnamara et al., 2011). When adults are considered, they are typically in an all-encompassing group, with key life phases of adulthood rarely discussed. Here, we identify three reasons such foci may be limiting the potential of PA policies and programs.

Firstly, the focus on children and youth in many national sport policies is underpinned by the assumption that encouraging children and young people to engage in sport and PA will lead to lifelong good habits. In many contexts, such focus is also directly connected to supporting youth talent development pathways and elite sporting outcomes. While some research supports the argument that investing in youth sport is justified due to the potential to contribute to lifelong PA patterns (Frech, 2012; Haynes et al., 2021; McLaughlin et al., 2025; Telama, 2009), other work suggests that continuity is uneven and shaped by changing social circumstances across the life course. Kjønniksen et al. (2009) found that participants in youth-organized sport were more likely to report higher leisure-time PA at age 23, while also recognizing that transitions such as forming relationships, entering employment, and developing new social networks may influence participation regardless of earlier involvement.

Wider life-course research has similarly suggested that continuity into adulthood is more likely where young people develop broad sporting skills and varied participation experiences during formative years (Engström, 2008; Vanreusel & Scheerder, 2016). It is therefore important to consider how changing social, cultural, and economic conditions shape participation across different life phases, rather than assuming continuity will occur automatically. Recent life-course research, including Corder et al. (2019) and Gropper et al. (2020), further emphasizes that participation trajectories are shaped by structural transitions and shifting responsibilities, rather than following a linear pattern from youth into adulthood. Participation may continue to shift across the life course as roles and responsibilities change. It is also possible that early adulthood involves a temporary disruption in participation, followed by re-engagement as life circumstances stabilize, suggesting that this phase may represent a period of transition within longer-term trajectories rather than a definitive point of decline. Without any explicit focus on early adulthood, however, we know very little about how PA patterns are revised, rejected, or re-engaged during and following this phase.

Secondly, beyond assumptions about lifelong habit formation, political, and institutional factors may also shape why policy attention is disproportionately directed toward children and youth. In this context, Green and Smith (2016) question the strength of policy assumptions that youth participation will automatically translate into sustained adult engagement, highlighting how such beliefs can be politically persuasive despite mixed empirical evidence. A review of national PA policies similarly highlight variation in how population groups are prioritized and suggest that strategic focus does not always align with life-course evidence (Klepac Pogrmilovic et al., 2020).

While literature does not explicitly note that access to children and youth for data collection and intervention implementation is a consideration in their foci, some scholars argue that such considerations may shape policy focus. For example, Bailey et al. (2009), Kirk (2005), and Neil-Sztramko et al. (2021) have noted that governments recognize schools as useful places for PA interventions due to their access to students, ability to enforce tasks and participation, and the ability to implement interventions at a single location to large amounts of the target population. Likewise, Coalter (2007) examines the reasons for and effects of the disproportionate focus on children and youth, suggesting that one possible reason is the ease of access through education providers, many of which are government-led. Continuing, he explains that issues of access may have led to a more limited understanding of adult participation.

Thirdly, when early adults are considered in policy, they are usually under a broad, all-encompassing category that fails to distinguish between different phases of adulthood. Policy documents commonly use “adult” as an umbrella term for individuals aged 18 to 65. Within the four illustrative policies examined above, adults are portrayed as needing increased PA to improve population-level health, a framing that also encompasses early adults. In a more comprehensive study, Breda et al. (2018) reviewed PA policy in 22 EU nations and found that senior citizens and workplace contexts emerged as two key adult subgroups that would benefit from greater policy attention. While sport and PA policy do acknowledge adult participation and behaviors, grouping all adults over 18 into a single category risks overlooking important life-course phases and lived realities (Bull et al., 2004).

Various scholars have argued that achieving sustained, long-term behavioral change requires situating sport and PA within the broader life context (Kay, 2016; Trask et al., 2023; Westerbeek & Eime, 2021). Treating all adults (18+) as a homogeneous category risks overlooking key life-course phases that may significantly influence PA patterns and practices. Herein we consider why early adults may be routinely overlooked in policy and research. As a subgroup, early adults are dispersed across various employment, leisure, and childcare responsibilities. No single institution or organization unites this group, which limits opportunities and access for government interventions or data collection needed to support policy goals (Coalter, 2007; Hajnal & Trounstine, 2014; Schneider & Ingram, 2005). We propose that the challenges of accessing early adults for research or intervention may be one of the key reasons this group has been overlooked to date, with the focus instead being placed on the overarching adult population.

Centering Early Adulthood: Why the Physical Activity Experiences of This Group are Important

Population data, as explored above, typically identifies early adults as the adult subgroup with the second-highest levels of PA across adult groups. From statistics alone, some may argue that focus of policies, resourcing, and interventions belong elsewhere. However, policy, statistics, and literature repeatedly observe PA decreasing across the lifespan (Breda et al., 2018; Brunet & Sabiston, 2011; Elgaddal et al., 2022; Sport England, 2024; Sport New Zealand, 2023a, 2023b). In this section, we argue that early adulthood is an essential time in life, and that changing social norms and behaviors at this stage may have a “knock-on” effect on other adult phases, where established behaviors are grounded in everyday life, and health behavior patterns become stabilized from middle-adulthood into late-adulthood (Ahola et al., 2025).

Importantly, PA participation patterns cannot be understood solely through age-based categories and must be considered in relation to shifting life circumstances, institutional structures, and evolving priorities that shape engagement across adulthood. As previously discussed, beyond PA literature, ages 25 to 35 are recognized in policy and statistics as a distinct stage of life when habits and lifestyle choices solidify (Frech, 2012; Furlong, 2017; Settersten & Ray, 2010). Two attributes are often highlighted during this life phase: (1) lifestyle changes that may contribute to early adults becoming “time poor,” a commonly reported barrier to PA (Pedersen et al., 2021; Peng et al., 2023) and (2) the consolidation of habits and routines as participation is renegotiated alongside new responsibilities. Herein we consider how such changing circumstances may shape PA patterns.

Time Poor

While time pressures are experienced across the life course, the nature and sources of these constraints may shift during early adulthood as work, financial, and relational responsibilities change. Many of the lifestyle changes in early adulthood result in increased responsibilities and changes in how leisure time is structured. Furlong (2017) identifies transitions from education to work, from dependence to independence, and from co-residence with parents to living with partners, children, friends, or solo. These transitions are increasingly being delayed into the late 20s or 30s, shaping PA practices (Brunet & Sabiston, 2011; Hasyim et al., 2024).

Early adulthood is commonly associated with transitions such as parenthood and partnership (Julian, 2022; Wright & von Stumm, 2025). Brown et al. (2009) recognized both as commonly associated with changes in PA participation among adults aged 22 to 30. Nomaguchi and Milkie (2020) also identified parenthood as intensifying time pressures and limiting leisure opportunities, generally resulting in reduced PA participation. Hull et al. (2010) agreed on the influence of parenthood on PA but found marriage less significant. In studies exploring PA behaviors among those in their late 20s, Brown and Trost (2003) and Nomaguchi and Bianchi (2004) concluded that getting married, having children and entering paid employment were all significant determinants of decreases in PA from early to late 20s. Taken together, this literature suggests that the transition into early adulthood often brings competing responsibilities and time pressures that can reshape how, when, and whether PA is prioritized.

In contemporary policy contexts, employment is often framed as central to achieving financial independence and personal responsibility, including responsibility for one's own health and wellbeing. Work pressures and expectations may therefore shape how early adults prioritize PA with increasingly demanding schedules. Brown and Trost (2003) linked reduced PA to work pressures and expectations, while Woessner et al. (2021) emphasized the rise in sedentary jobs as a cause. Church et al. (2011) report that current working life has shifted from manual and active jobs to employment primarily requiring high levels of sedentary behaviors. Oxenham et al. (2025) review the relationship between PA and employment, identifying that transitions into employment may reshape participation patterns for young adults, often alongside reductions in PA. Lack of time, across all working-aged adults, is the most cited barrier to PA participation (Pedersen et al., 2021; Peng et al., 2023). To date, we know little about how early adults working lives are shaping their sport and PA participation, but it is very likely that changing patterns in work (where, when, and how) are having an impact.

Financial constraints are another common contributor to PA. Early adults may be facing parenthood, mortgages, employment changes, and reduced disposable income in new ways to earlier life phases. Peng et al. (2023) recognize that shifts in priorities also affect finances, limiting spending on PA facilities, such as gyms or fitness technology that can encourage participation (Stephenson et al., 2017). In many policy contexts, responsibility for health and wellbeing is increasingly framed at individual level, while access to affordable facilities varies across regions and socioeconomic groups (Card & Hepburn, 2023), thereby further exacerbating the struggles of accessing affordable and accessible facilities. On the other hand, social media is increasingly promoting free organized activity (e.g., run clubs) (Lefebvre & Bornkessel, 2013). Suar et al. (2021) recognizes millennials as a more health-conscious and proactive generation and argues that young adults are finding their own ways of overcoming this barrier. Little is currently known about how early adults are navigating new constraints, barriers, challenges, and/or opportunities for PA, specifically how participation shifts into less formal or less institutionally recognized formats (i.e., informal and recreational sport and active leisure).

With little research focused on the sport and PA behaviors of early adults, understandings of barriers and motivators remain unclear. Shifting patterns in work, familial responsibilities, and engagement with technologies, are inevitably shaping when, where, how, and with whom early adults are engaging in PA. These changes may constrain participation for some individuals, while also creating new opportunities and motivations for engagement for others. For example, previous research has shown that some young mothers are pursuing physically active lifestyles with their children as part of “good” motherhood discourses (Connolly & Thorpe, 2025). However, it is only with this knowledge that effective interventions and policy focus might work to acknowledge such realities and adapt to support and/or create changes in early adults’ PA and sport behaviors.

Habit Forming

Early adult milestones are often associated with decreasing PA and increase sedentary behaviors as existing habits and routines are reshaped in response to changing circumstances. This stage of life is often associated with the stabilization of behaviors and lifestyles as routines become embedded in everyday life. Mehta et al. (2020) explain the late 20s and 30s as an uncertain period, but also a phase of stabilizing, where (new or familiar) health behaviors are embedded into new daily routines. Panchal (2011) distinguishes between two transitions within the commonly used 18 to 35 age range: the early 20s (emerging adulthood; Arnett, 2015), and “turning 30,” when individuals pursue stability and make lifelong decisions. Frech (2012) suggests that behaviors normalized at this stage may become increasingly embedded, making later change challenging. Nelson et al. (2012) found fluctuations in obesity are common in the 18 to 25 age range due to negative behaviors (i.e., nutritional and lifestyle factors), but less so at 26 to 30 as lifestyles shift toward more stable long-term routines. Recent longitudinal evidence similarly indicates that PA patterns often decline during the transition from adolescence to early adulthood, with trajectories shaped by changes in social roles and responsibilities rather than following a uniform pattern (Corder et al., 2019). This finding is supported by Telama (2009), who suggests that increasing PA in middle or older adulthood can be more challenging where inactivity has become embedded in earlier adult routines. The key point here is that early adulthood represents a phase where PA patterns may adjust and become embedded into everyday routines, meaning changes in participation during this time can have longer-term implications across adulthood.

Though limited, this literature points to early adulthood as a phase of reconfiguration, where understanding PA patterns can offer insight into how behaviors are carried into later adulthood. Here we turn back to Furlong (2017), who recognizes early adulthood as a critical period in which health, work, lifestyle, and family priorities are being re-established and renegotiated. Early adulthood is therefore an overlooked, but potentially important, phase for understanding how PA practices are adapted during a time of changing responsibilities and constraints. It is through such insight that more effective and responsive interventions may be developed to better support early adults.

Conclusion: Where to From Here?

From the published reports, policies and insight tools examined, it is evident that Western countries do not (yet) consider the 25- to 35-year-old age range as a priority group for intervention or investment. Policy aims continue to focus on childhood and youth, often working on the assumption that behaviors developed early in life will continue into adulthood. When considered, adulthood is too often treated as an all-encompassing category, with many policies tending to group individuals aged 18 and over together, with little recognition of the different life stages within adulthood. Here, we argue that early adulthood requires greater attention as a life stage in which new work, family, and community responsibilities are emerging and reshaping everyday routines, including PA. Earlier experiences of sport and PA are not simply sustained or lost at this point but may instead be adapted and renegotiated within new contexts. Nevertheless, research gaps mean that we still know relatively little about the key challenges, constraints, and supports that shape participation during this period. Examining these four broadly comparable Western policy contexts highlighted the consistent lack of attention given to early adulthood across existing sport and PA frameworks. However, experiences of early adulthood, and the ways participation is understood and supported, are likely to differ across wider social, cultural, and policy environments, reinforcing the need for further research across different countries and contexts. It is important that researchers create space to listen to and learn from early adults to better understand how their PA practices are evolving during this life phase. This may include developing policy and interventions that are more responsive to the changing work, family, and leisure realities shaping participation during early adulthood.

Life phase research has both strengths and limitations. Like any age group, experiences of early adults vary according to socioeconomic status, ethnicity, disability, and gender, and transitions into so-called “adult” milestones are not uniform. While there are undoubtedly differences within and across age groups, it is timely to consider how those in early adulthood (25–35) experience PA opportunities and constraints in both familiar and changing ways. Rather than replacing the importance of childhood and youth, this commentary calls for extending policy and research attention to early adulthood as a stage in which participation patterns may be consolidated and reshaped. A stronger focus on this group could contribute toward targeted interventions and support for sustained engagement in sport and PA across adulthood.

Footnotes

Author Contributions

All authors contributed to the writing and revision of this research note and approved the final manuscript for submission.

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Data Availability Statement

No new data were created or analyzed in support of this research. All policy documents and literature discussed are publicly available and have been fully referenced within the manuscript.

ORCID iDs

Natalie Connolly

Holly Thorpe

William M. Roberts

Mihi Nemani

Author Biographies

Natalie Connolly is a PhD student in the School of Sport and Human Movement at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. Her research focuses on the social and cultural aspects of physical activity participation, specifically in early adulthood and everyday experiences of physical activity and wellbeing.

Holly Thorpe is Associate Dean Research in the Division of Health and Professor in the School of Sport and Human Movement at the University of Waikato. Her research explores the sociology of sport, physical culture, gender, and physical activity, with particular interests in wellbeing, equity and inclusion.

William M. Roberts is Head of School for Sport and Human Movement at the University of Waikato. His work examines sport coaching and coach development within broader pedagogical, social and cultural contexts. He has experience across high-performance and community sport, with an interest in how coaching practices shape participation, inclusion, and athlete development.

Mihi Nemani is a Senior Lecturer in Sport Development in the School of Sport and Human Movement at the University of Waikato. Her teaching and research interests include sport sociology, physical activity, exercise prescription, and Indigenous health and wellbeing. Her work is grounded in Indigenous perspectives informed by experience across coaching, teaching, and community sport.

Justin Richards is Academic Lead at Sport New Zealand Ihi Aotearoa and Associate Professor in Physical Activity and Wellbeing at Victoria University of Wellington Te Herenga Waka. His work focuses on physical activity, wellbeing, and participation, particularly in relation to evaluation, policy, and reducing health inequities across different population groups.

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