Playing several sports can reduce childhood obesity

A new study finds kids who play several sports reduce their risk of becoming overweight by nearly 30 percent.

Those who played on three or more sports teams in the past year were 27 percent less likely to be overweight and 39 percent less likely to be obese compared with teens who did not play on any sports team.

But doctors say it's also important to motivate all kids to be more active.

Dr. Susan Joy with Cleveland Clinic Sports Health says, "The key would be to try to find a way to motivate the kids who don't otherwise want to play multiple sports or who don't want to ride their bike or walk to school and try to motivate them to do that because then when they're participating at that same level they should see the same effect on their weight over time."

High school sports participation, which involves regular practices and competitions, reduces overweight and obesity risks because it involves moderate to strenuous activity levels.

Also, it gets kids into healthy habits at a young age.