Rankings in orange circles compare this sport with nine other sports offered for this gender before customization – meaning each of the three health categories is given an equal one-third weighting. The ranking is comprised of data collected or developed from various sources (75% of score) and expert opinion (25% of score). The healthiest sports in each of the three categories – physical activity, safety and psychosocial benefits – and in each data measurement are ranked No. 1. Note: Some sports did not have significant differences between each other in the data. Learn more about our methodology.
10th
out of 10
Physical Activity
Expert Opinion Rank: 9th Out of 10
Key Characteristics: Cheerleading’s physical activity at practices is the lowest among the 10 girls sports studied by North Carolina State University. Cheerleading has only 16 percent vigorous activity; the 10 girls sports average 39.6 percent. Thirty-five percent of cheerleading practice time focuses on skills compared to 23 percent spent on knowledge of the sport and 18 percent on fitness.
1 North Carolina State University research observing high school athletes in North Carolina, 2017-18.
7th
out of 10
Safety
9.1
Injury Rate2(3rd out of 10)
12%
Injury Time/Loss3(9th out of 10)
1.33
Catastrophic Rate4(10th out of 10)
4.3%
Injuries Requiring Surgery5(6th out of 10)
4.1
Concussion Rate6(7th out of 10)
Expert Opinion Rank: 9th Out of 10
Key Characteristics: Cheerleading has the third-lowest injury rate among girls sports, according to the National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study; other metrics lower its overall Safety score. Almost half of the injuries are to the head/face. Cheerleading’s catastrophic injury rate, while low relatively speaking, is the highest among the 20 sports evaluated by Healthy Sport Index.
2 Injury rate per 10,000 exposures, National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study, 2016-17.
3 Percentage of all injuries resulting in greater than three weeks of time loss from the sport, National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study, 2016-17.
4 Non-fatal catastrophic injury/illness rate per 100,000 exposures, National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research, 1982-2016.
5 Percentage of all injuries requiring surgery, National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study, 2016-17.
6 Concussion rate per 10,000 exposures, National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study, 2016-17.
10th
out of 10
Psychosocial
Aspen Psychosocial Survey7
3.607
Personal Social Skills(5th out of 10)
2.794
Cognitive Skills(5th out of 10)
3.616
Goal-Setting(8th out of 10)
3.706
Initiative(T-7thth out of 10)
3.464
Health(10th out of 10)
1.74
Negative Experiences(10th out of 10)
Substance Abuse
Cigarette Use8
14%
(9th out of 10)
Binge Drinking9
20.5%
(9th out of 10)
Marijuana Use10
17.6%
(8th out of 10)
Academic Achievement
Cut Class11
28.7%
(9th out of 10)
A/A- Student12
42.1%
(10th out of 10)
Graduate From College13
75.2%
(5th out of 10)
Psychological health14
How We Define Our Metrics
4.17
Self-Esteem(3rd out of 10)
2.22
Fatalism(10th out of 10)
3.87
Self-Efficacy(5th out of 10)
2.85
Loneliness(10th out of 10)
2.04
Self-Derogation(5th out of 10)
4.24
Social Support(6th out of 10)
Expert Opinion Rank: 10th Out of 10
Key Characteristics: Cheerleading rates eighth among the 10 girls sports in the Aspen Institute/University of Texas psychosocial survey, though the gap isn’t large compared to No. 1 softball. Developing social and cognitive skills are strengths for cheerleading. The sport has poor rates for substance abuse, academic achievement, fatalism and loneliness compared to other girls sports, according to Women’s Sports Foundation data.
7 Aspen Institute/University of Texas psychosocial benefits survey of high school athletes nationally, 2018. Scoring ranges from 1-4, with 4 being the best except for the Negative Experiences category.
8 Percentage of high school seniors in the sport smoking cigarettes in the past 30 days. Data from Monitoring the Future Study (2010-15) and analyzed by Women’s Sports Foundation in Teen Sport in America: Why Participation Matters.
9 Percentage of high school seniors in the sport binge drinking alcohol in the past two weeks. Data from Monitoring the Future Study (2010-15) and analyzed by Women’s Sports Foundation in Teen Sport in America: Why Participation Matters.
10 Percentage of high school seniors in the sport using marijuana in the past 30 days. Data from Monitoring the Future Study (2010-15) and analyzed by Women’s Sports Foundation in Teen Sport in America: Why Participation Matters.
11 Percentage of high school seniors in the sport who cut class for a full day in the past month. Data from Monitoring the Future Study (2010-15) and analyzed by Women’s Sports Foundation in Teen Sport in America: Why Participation Matters.
12 Percentage of high school seniors in the sport who have an average grade of an A or A-. Data from Monitoring the Future Study (2010-15) and analyzed by Women’s Sports Foundation in Teen Sport in America: Why Participation Matters.
13 Percentage of high school seniors in the sport who expect to graduate from a four-year college. Data from Monitoring the Future Study (2010-15) and analyzed by Women’s Sports Foundation in Teen Sport in America: Why Participation Matters.
14 Average scores of high school seniors in the sport in psychological health report card. Data for these six categories came from Monitoring the Future Study (2010-15) and analyzed by Women’s Sports Foundation in Teen Sport in America: Why Participation Matters. Scoring ranges from 1-5, with 5 being the best for self-esteem, self-efficacy and social support.