Young women and girls' physical activity
This factsheet summarises the recent key findings on young women and girls' physical activity.
It brings together quantitative data from a number of sources including the NHS Information Centre; Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS); Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF); Youth Sport Trust (YST); Girlguiding UK; and WSFF.
Last updated 20 December 2010
- Just a quarter of girls meet current recommended levels of physical activity a week
- Female drop off in sport starts earlier than males’ and is also more dramatic
- Despite PE being compulsory in schools, one in five girls still does no activity in a week. This is twice the proportion of boys
- For girls, being fit and healthy is the most popular reason for taking part in PE/sport. Other motivations include working as a team, making friends, being considerate and helping them to think about others
- Girls think sports traditionally played by boys, such as rugby and football, are seen (by society) to be more important that sports played by girls
