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According to new Geisel School of Medicine research, high school students who play on three or more sports teams a year are 27 percent less likely to be overweight and 39 percent less likely to be obese than their peers who do not participate on athletic teams, reports CNN.

Keith Drake, the study’s lead author, and project coordinator of the Geisel School’s Hood Center for Children and Families, told CNN that the study found that team sports had a greater influence on adolescent weight than participation in physical education class, walking, or biking to school.

“Increasing sport participation in adolescents who do not play sports, are not athletic, or just not competitive may be challenging,“ Drake told CNN. “Because our estimates suggest that increasing sports participation among these adolescents would lead to the largest reduction in obesity, expanding non-competitive athletic opportunities, such as club sports and intramurals, should be prioritized.”

Ready the full story, published on 7/16/12 by CNN.