Children can benefit from playing sports, but the number of kids playing youth sports continues to drop. Good Sports created an infographic that shows reasons why kids are not playing sports and how sitting out can affect them.

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Seventy-one percent of kids do not get enough daily exercise. This can be due to several reasons, but one of the biggest is that 63 percent of youth sports programs now come with a fee, leading many schools to cut these programs. The decrease in sports participation has led to more obesity among kids; nearly one out of three American children is overweight.

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Playing sports helps children stay healthy, but it also has a positive effect on academics, social skills and cognitive development. Kids who play sports are more likely to receive better grades, have greater personal confidence and self esteem, and develop life skills and work ethic to accomplish their goals.

Check out the goodsports.org infographic below, for more on why children need sports and how you can help keep them active.