2022, Dissertation It is important to get a better understanding of the relationship between sport participation on the one hand and health and health care costs on the other. For that purpose, the research in this thesis shows that sport participation is positively associated to significantly lower risks of morbidity, type 2 diabetes, prediabetes and obesity. However, the relationship between sport participation and health differs between groups. For several health outcomes, the positive effects of sport participation are significantly greater for people with a healthy weight than for obese persons. Another finding is that socioeconomic inequalities in sports participation (with the most vulnerable groups participating the least) seem contribute considerably, and much more than physical activity, to the socioeconomic inequalities in health outcomes. The research also shows that there exists a strong socioeconomic gradient in health care costs in the Netherlands: controlling for the population structure, poor neighborhoods have substantially higher costs than affluent neighborhoods. In addition, neighborhoods with a higher percentage of voluntary sports club members have significantly lower average health care costs. This relationship seems to be independent of the socioeconomic level of a neighborhood. Finally, the research shows that the socioeconomic inequalities in physical activity behavior have increased significantly in the Netherlands due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the measures to prevent the spread of the virus. In conclusion, the research in this thesis demonstrates that sports participation can be an important preventive medicine for improving health, reducing socioeconomic health inequalities, as well as lowering health care costs.
2020, Article / Letter to editor (Tpedigitaal, (2020))Steden en landen zetten vaak veel middelen in om sportevenementen naar zich toe te trekken. Vanuit dit oogpunt is het interessant om te analyseren hoeveel bestedingen de bezoekers van een evenement doen en welke factoren hiermee samenhangen. Voor dit onderzoek zijn bezoekers aan de
KLM Open in 2016, 2017 en 2018 bevraagd naar hun uitgaven tijdens en rondom dit evenement.
Dagbestedingen blijken samen te hangen met het aantal dagen bezoek, of er overnacht wordt, buitenlandse herkomst en leeftijd van de bezoeker. Bovendien blijken de prestaties van Nederlandse
deelnemers en de hoeveelheid regenval een rol te spelen in het uitgavenpatroon. Evenementorganisatoren en (horeca-)ondernemers in de regio kunnen deze inzichten gebruiken om te profiteren
van de aanwezige geldstromen op en rondom het evenement en daarmee subsidiebijdragen vanuit
de overheid beperken.
2020, Article / Letter to editor (vol. 17, (2020))Mass participation sporting events (MPSEs) are increasing in popularity. However, little research exists into the potential value of these events for improving public health by enhancing physical activity (PA). The aim of this study is to estimate the health impact of increased physical activity as a result of preparing for an MPSE. Participants of a mass participation women-only running event were asked if they performed additional PA in preparation of the event, including the length (weeks) and intensity (min per week). Additionally, self-reported change in health status was evaluated. Based on these results, we have developed a framework for estimating the cumulatively gained quality adjusted life years (QALYs) and monetary value thereof. Of the respondents (N = 468; mean age 42.3 ± 11.9 years), 32% performed additional vigorous PA in preparation of the event, with an average of 63 min per week over 8.8 weeks. Performing additional vigorous PA significantly improved the odds of self-rated health. The estimated total health impact of participants preparing for the Marikenloop was 6.6 QALYs gained with a corresponding monetary value between EUR 133,000 and EUR 532,000. We believe our health impact framework helps to understand that MPSEs can be a notable part of the public health domain.
2013, Part of book or chapter of book (, pp. 131-139)De bijdragen in dit Liber Amicorum voor Willem de Nijs bieden een rijke bloemlezing aan inzichten in het huidige denken over de mens in de organisatie; meer specifiek vormen ze een poging de vraag te beantwoorden of het huidige onderzoek en de praktijk van Human Resource Management (HRM) vooral worden ingekleurd vanuit managementperspectief (nuttigheidsdenken), of toch ook oog heeft voor het creëren van een zinvolle werkomgeving voor medewerkers. Hoofdstuk 17: In 2007 werd door middle van de overeenkomst Bestuurlijke afspraken Impuls brede scholen, sport en cultuur een interessante functie gecreëerd in de sportsector: de combinatiefunctionaris. De naam zegt het al: de functionaris bekleedt meerdere functies en in dit geval in verschillende organisaties.
2021, Article / Letter to editor (vol. 31, (2021), pp. 1342-1351)This study examined the association of sport participation with health outcomes and whether this relation differs between body mass index (BMI)-level subpopulations. Research outcomes for sport participation were compared with other types of leisure-time physical activity (PA). We used the Cox proportional hazards regression models to assess the associations of sport participation, and four other PA types (cycling, gardening, doing odd jobs, and walking), with the risk of prediabetes, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and all-cause mortality in 97,212 individuals (58.4% women; mean age: 46.5 years) in the Dutch LifeLines cohort. Outcomes were stratified by three BMI levels: healthy weight (BMI: 18.5-24.9 kg/m(2) ), overweight (BMI: 25.0-29.9 kg/m(2) ), and obesity (BMI: 30.0 kg/m(2) or above). Sport participation was associated with lower health risks, but only significantly so for prediabetes (HR = 0.86, 95% CI: 0.81-0.92). For healthy weight persons, sport participation was associated with the largest risk reductions, with significantly lower risks of prediabetes (HR = 0.78, 95% CI: 0.68-0.90) and all-cause mortality (HR = 0.79, 95% CI 0.65-0.96). Other PA types were not associated with significantly lower health risks, with the exception of cycling, for which significantly lower health risks for persons with overweight were found. Our findings show that sport participation is associated with lower health risks, especially prediabetes, but the effect varies between BMI levels, with the strongest link for persons with a healthy weight. Sport participation, together with cycling, is likely to be more effective in reducing health risks than other types of PA.
2022, Dissertation The social significance of sport has surged in recent decades, and promoting sport participation have become a priority in governmental policies and campaigns related to sports, physical activity and health. Nonetheless, sport participation is dynamic and generally decreases during the life course. This dissertation investigated to what extend major life events play a role in this. Particularly, it examined sport participation during the transition into adulthood and the impact of life events that mark this transition. The research findings show that leaving full-time education, beginning work, moving out to live on your own, engaging in a relationship, starting to cohabit or getting married, and becoming a parent affect the likelihood of starting and stopping a sport, the sport participation frequency and setting, and/or the number of sports practiced. So, these major live events are game changers, which sports providers and policy makers, among others, should take into account when promoting “lifelong sport participation” and “sports for all”.