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Physical activity encouraged less by family, school in girls than boys
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Recent research suggested that family support and school influences toward physical activity may be stronger in boys than girls, resulting in less physical activity participation among girls.
“To address a gap in the literature in understanding why girls are less physically active than boys we employed a multilevel, cross-sectional and longitudinal approach at the individual, family and environmental levels of the socioecological framework,” Rohan M. Telford, PhD, of the Centre for Research and Action in Public Health at the University of Canberra, Australia, and colleagues wrote in PLoS One “Our findings suggest that influences on [physical activity (PA)] at the school and family levels and through extracurricular sport participation are weaker in girls than boys.”
Rohan M. Telford
As part of the ongoing Lifestyle of our Kids (LOOK) study, the researchers gathered data from 555 children, aged 8 to 12 years, from 29 schools in Australia. PA was measured via pedometers for 7 days, while other individual level correlates were measured using fitness tests, coordination tests, DEXA scans and questionnaires. Parent questionnaires also were weighed to determine parental support, while extracurricular sports participation was used to gauge environmental factors.
By examining pedometer results, data showed that girls were 19% less physically active than boys (9,420 daily steps vs. 11,360 daily steps; P < .001). These results among girls were associated with lower school influence, family support and lower participation in extracurricular sports.
The researchers also found that girls demonstrated lower scores on individual PA-related attribute tests at age 8 years. Girls had 18% lower cardiorespiratory fitness scores, 44% lower hand-eye coordination scores, 9% lower perceived PA competence scores and greater percentage of body fat (P < .001 for each).
“These factors are potentially modifiable suggesting the gap in PA between boys and girls can be reduced,” Telford and colleagues wrote. “Strategies aiming to increase PA should be multicomponent and take into consideration that pathways to increasing PA are likely to differ among boys and girls.” – by David Costill
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
Perspective
Back to TopDeborah L. Best, PhD
Family practitioners and pediatricians are usually a valuable line of defense in disseminating information and encouraging behavior change to improve the lives and health of children. As such, it is essential for clinicians to recognize that girls are less active and physically fit than boys across the late childhood years and to understand the variables related to these critical gender differences.
Biology does play a role, with 8-year-old girls having a higher percentage of body fat than boys, but no differences in weight or BMI, and with boys being taller than girls. By age 12 girls have more advanced pubertal development than boys. However, a more crucial gender difference found in this study was that girls have lower cardio-respiratory fitness than boys at both ages, a deficit that may have long-term negative health consequences.
At both ages, boys who were more physically active felt more competent in physical education class and had parents who were more supportive of their physical activity and participation in extracurricular sports. Although girls had a similar level of parental support at age 8, parental support had diminished by age 12. Indeed, at both ages, girls had lower extracurricular sports participation than boys, less competence in physical education class, and lower eye-hand coordination.
With the growing obesity epidemic, it was not surprising to see that the majority of girls and boys were not as physically active as guidelines recommend, and that activity decreased with age for both. However, the picture is particularly distressing for girls. Girls are likely getting fewer opportunities to be active and to develop feelings of competence in sports and physical education classes. Feeling less competent, girls may choose not to participate in sports, and parents would be less likely to encourage participation.
Parents should be persuaded to find creative ways to increase girls’ physical activity, perhaps through sports such as swimming or running, which do not require hand-eye coordination. Programs specifically geared toward girls should be encouraged in schools and the community. Guiding girls and their parents toward programs, such as “Girls on the Run,” may be an important first step toward improving the quality of the lives and health of girls.
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