Improving women's health
WSFF is often asked ‘what are the health benefits of girls and women taking part sport and exercise?’ And we say – there are so many! This NEW factsheet highlights the considerable research that has been carried out which demonstrates the benefits of exercise on physical, mental and social health and the benefits to women and girls. (May 25th 2010).
Girls Get Active - Castlebrae Community High School
The uptake of sport and physical activity among the girls in the school has been low and a large number of girls did not use to take part in PE at all. There were huge challenges with truancy, attitudes, behaviours in the school used to be seen as a “difficult school”. Morale was low among students as well as staff and in particular PE was suffering from high turn over of PE teachers and the teaching was disrupted and there was little continuity.
Creating a nation of active women: A framework for change
Creating a Nation of Active Women provides the framework to address the crisis detailed in It’s time. But it’s more than a strategy for change. It is a stark call-to-action for those with the power and responsibility to effect that change.
A national target has been set for two million more people to be more active by 2012, of which at least one million should be women. But with 24 million women not doing enough physical activity, that should be only the beginning.
With practical recommendations, the strategy provides a framework, compromising three key imperatives, for those who develop policy and design, and who deliver and promote sport and exercise for women and girls.
It's time: Future forecasts for women's particiation in sport and exercise
Published in 2007, It's time is a ground-breaking research study into women's participation in sport and exercise.
The report reveals the true extent of the crisis in women's physical activity, highlighting the critically low levels of women's participation in sport and exercise. It's time explored and explained the reasons for this and the complex motivations that are specific to women.
Did you know that more than 80% of women are not doing enough physical activity to benefit their health? Young women aged 16 – 24 are nearly half as active as their male counterparts. The statistics are even worse for low income and black and minority ethnic women.
Forecasts in participation rates for women in the next ten years show an even gloomier picture: one forecast shows a potential fall of 5.5% by 2017. This could amount to 1.25 million fewer women being sufficiently active.
At the same time, three out of five women believe that they do enough exercise to be healthy, whereas in reality less than one in five are actually doing enough.
These figures come at a time when Sport England has pledged to increase participation in sport and exercise by 1% every year. A target of getting two million more people active by 2012 from low participation groups (including women) has been set.
Government is facing up to the challenge of creating a fitter and healthier nation – and the London 2012 Olympics have been sold on a promise of a legacy of increased participation – but this report argues that it’s time we faced up to the realities of trying to create a nation of more active women and girls.
It’s time … the sport sector viewed women on an equal basis as men.
It’s time … we made women aware of the importance of being active, and provided the activities and facilities that women want, where they want, and at the times they want.
It’s time … we took meaningful action to challenge a culture that allows girls to grow up believing it is more important to be thin than healthy.
