How Sporty Is Your Sport? – NPR

When it comes to sports, there seems to be something for everyone.

There are team sports and activities you can do alone. There’s exercise that requires equipment, or none at all.

But how much benefit you get from each one depends on a lot of factors, including how much you weigh, how long you play and the intensity of the activity.

People play sports for personal enjoyment and health, according to NPR’s poll on sports and health in America. The poll, done in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, finds that other reasons include losing weight and staying in shape.

So how athletic are some of the sports Americans play? Playing golf burns almost as many calories as baseball. But how does dancing compare with playing darts?

We looked at the caloric expenditures of a variety of sports to see how moderate levels of activity stacked up for the average American woman.

Join us on the video tour created by California animator Ben Arthur.