Getting girls to go for it
EVEN as sports opportunities for girls have expanded over the past decade, the sad fact remains that when girls hit middle school, they are much more likely than boys to become physically inactive. To make matters worse, exercise habits at this age often set patterns for life.
In a new study confirming this disparity, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill identified 200 sixth- to eighth-graders considered at risk of being physically inactive, then surveyed them to find out what would motivate them to exercise.
The adolescents -- boys and girls -- fell into three at-risk groups: those who were overweight, those who didn’t consider themselves athletic, and girls in general, said Katie Haverly, a doctoral student who conducted the study. A feeling of personal fulfillment was far more likely to motivate these kids to exercise than other factors, such as the need to lose weight or parental urging.
To put it simply, girls often don’t enjoy such activities. But why? “Research is underway to help us answer that question,” says Kirsten Krahnstoever Davison, assistant professor of health policy and behavior in the School of Public Health of the University at Albany, SUNY, in New York.
She oversaw the recent study and is conducting her own research on what affects girls’ declining interest in exercise. Contributing factors appear to be how girls feel about their changing bodies, fewer opportunities than boys to participate in sports, and social norms.
“Boys’ puberty often works to their athletic advantage,” Davison says. “The extra weight, strength, muscle and testosterone can be a boon. Girls, on the other hand, feel fatter and rounder and very self-conscious about their changing bodies. They often feel uncomfortable jiggling when they run because it attracts unwanted attention.”
As girls become more concerned with their appearance, some can also worry that sports make them appear unfeminine, says Denise Sur, a family medicine physician at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center, who teaches family medicine at UCLA. “They worry about getting sweaty and who will see them, while being sweaty isn’t bad for a guy.”
Another shift that happens in middle school is that sports become more competitive, and girls make the team -- or they don’t bother with sports. Boys tend to still get involved in physical activity, even if it’s informally with friends. “When the focus shifts from having fun to winning, that drives girls away,” Davison says.
A third reason many adolescent girls become less active is the different ways boys and girls socialize, Davison says. “Girls are more likely to socialize around conversation, while boys are more likely to socialize around doing activities together -- like sports. Because adolescents place a premium on following the crowd, if most girls are hanging around talking, then that’s what they all do. There’s a snowball effect.”
Denisha Jordan, who teaches physical education to middle schoolers and also coaches the high school varsity girls basketball team at Foshay Learning Center in Los Angeles, says stereotypes are part of the problem. Parents, schools, society and even other students don’t support girls’ sports the same way they support boys’.
“I had a starter for my varsity basketball team miss a game this week because she had to stay home and baby-sit her sister,” Jordan said. “That wouldn’t have happened if she were a boy.”
She’s also noticed that some girls who play sports risk their popularity. Other kids -- girls and boys -- tease athletic girls for being masculine, even questioning their sexual orientation, she says. “As a result, I see girls with athletic talent not use it because it’s not as encouraged or accepted.”
But the middle-school years are crucial ones. Girls are establishing exercise patterns that can last a lifetime, having a great effect on their risk for health problems such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and obesity.
“The future for these inactive girls doesn’t look promising,” Davison says. “Stability estimates consistently show that these early activity levels are quite predictive of behavior in adulthood.”
Haverly’s research, however, showed that the key to getting girls -- and other youths at risk for inactivity -- back in the game is to make exercise personally rewarding.
“If the kids think the activity will help them improve their skill, improve their health, or is fun, they’ll be far more motivated to participate,” she said. In her study, kids rated their motivation for activity on a scale of 1 to 4, with 4 being the most motivating. Girls ranked personal fulfillment 3.57, losing weight 2.41, peer influence 2.05 and parental urging 1.71.
Davison notes, however, that although the study found that parental nagging isn’t a good motivator, parental involvement still is: “For parents of nonathletic kids, it’s even more critical that they help their child find a sport they enjoy, because these kids won’t be picked up for sports teams at school.” In addition, she says, parents can help instill a lifelong habit of activity by exercising with their kids, enrolling them in recreational sports and cheering them on at their games.
Sur agrees. “Exercise,” she says, “has to be what a child and his or her family do for fun.”
Adds Haverly: “Understanding what gets these kids moving is important to consider when creating public health interventions to increase physical activity.”
She’d like to see schools put more emphasis on health and enjoyment and less on competitiveness and athleticism. And too, she says, athletic programs should vary the choices of activities, so girls have a greater chance of finding something they enjoy.
“When exercise stops being fun,” she says, “girls stop exercising.”
