Introduction
Physical Activity is defined as ‘any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles in energy expenditure’ (Caspersen, Powell and Christenson, 1985). This includes activities of daily living, occupation, active transport, play, exercise and sport. However, across the UK inactivity levels are still on the increase, which means that people are not getting involved in physical activity. 27.1% of people (603,000) in Manchester do fewer than 30 minutes of physical activity a week (Active Lives Adult Survey, 2018). The lack of physical activity levels in people’s lives means they are at higher risk of developing health conditions and diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, strokes and depression. Meeting the recommended physical activity guidelines of 150 minutes per week can improve health by reducing the risk of osteoarthritis by 83%, type 2 diabetes and strokes by 50% (Greater Sport, 2018). Most people in the UK do not have physically demanding jobs, meaning majority live very sedentary lives. Sedentary behavior is defined as ‘any seated or reclined posture that requires less than 1.5 Metabolic Equivalent Tasks (METs)’ (Barnes, 2012). This means behaviour that involves very little or no physical activity. In 1953, Morris studied the rates of coronary heart disease between drivers and conductors of London transport. The results from the research concluded that employees in positions that required high physical activity had lower rates of coronary heart disease (Morris and Crawford, 1958). Showing that physical activity is important for good physical health. In general, research has shown that having a higher BMI was positively associated with sedentary behaviours (Peltzer and Pengpid, 2016). Levels of sedentary behaviour also remains stubbornly high in the UK, and evidence is growing that shows a sedentary lifestyle, irrespective of your level of physical activity, is strongly associated with poor cardiovascular health (Physical Inactivity and Sedentary Behaviour Report, 2017). Many people who live a sedentary life, are classified as obese. There has been a sudden rise in obesity and decline in physical activity in young people, attributing to development in technology. In adults (Jebb and Moore, 1999) and children (Steinbeck, 2001) there is evidence linking physical inactivity to the development of obesity. Not only does physical inactivity make us more susceptible to health conditions and diseases, it can also result in death. It is known that physical inactivity is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide (Kohl et al., 2012). Physical inactivity is a global health crisis, responsible for an estimated 5 million deaths worldwide (Physical Inactivity and Sedentary Behaviour Report, 2017). Physically inactive middle-aged women (engaging in less than 1 hour of exercise per week) experienced a 52% increase in all-cause mortality (Warburton, 2006).
Not only does physical activity engagement have an effect on physical health it is also important to acknowledge psychological and social impacts. Similar to physical health, physical activity can also help to reduce depression and dementia by 30%, psychological distress by 47% and overall mood can be improved (Greater Sport, 2018). Individuals with poor psychological health often engage in unhealthy lifestyle behaviours such as poor quality diet, smoking and being physically inactive (Chuang, Mansell, and Patten, 2008). In adults, depression is now recognised as a risk factor for several non-communicable diseases. Research has been done to see if exercise can be incorporated into the treatment of depression. This is because exercise may mirror many of the treatments; for example monitoring exercise behavior and setting and achieving exercise goals both enhances self-regulatory skills and improves self-efficacy. Exercise can also be used as a mood regulatory, which can contribute to confidence in managing symptoms (Meyer and Gullotta, 2012). When participating in physical activity, the body releases chemicals known as endorphins, which provide the body and mind with a positive feeling. Endorphins increase feelings of well-being, which can help to improve an individual’s mood, self esteem and self concept. If inactivity levels are high, these feelings would not be present and could lead to further psychological health problems. Exercise generally exerts a positive influence on self-concept and self esteem, research has yet to document a negative effect on these. Physical inactivity was associated “with reports of feeling nervous among girls” (Peltzer and Pengpid, 2016). The feeling of being nervous, suggests that the mind or body is stressed. Participating in sport/physical activity and allowing endorphins to be released, removes the feeling of anxiety and stress. By getting involved with physical activity and sports allows people to become more social and meet lots of new people. This can have many benefits, such as gaining more confidence and feeling like you are a part of something (Greater Sport, 2018). By getting inactive groups involved means they are less likely to become lonely or experience social isolation (Greater Sport, 2018).
The purpose of this report is to identify the reasons why inactivity levels in women and girls is 28.4% (Active Lives Adult Survey, 2018). It will explore the practical, personal, social and cultural barriers preventing participation and identify strategies these barriers effecting women and girls can be overcome (Greater Sport, 2018), which would influence them to participate.
Methodology
For this technical report, it involved using secondary and desktop research from a range of sources, such as journals, government departments and the internet. Secondary data already exists and is collected for some other (primary) purpose but can be used a second time in the current project (Veal and Darcy, 2014). It is carried out to ensure that primary research is correct. Desktop research is a type of secondary research. Desktop research, means finding reliable and relevant data which already exists, without fieldwork. This type of research can provide valuable information from several sources, which can usually be accessed for free.
It can be argued that secondary research has its benefits as well as it’s disadvantages. As the research has already been collected, it saves a huge amount of time and money, because the data is already available to use and the cost of finding it has been avoided. The use of secondary data within this research paper came in useful, because the data used was based on large samples from across Greater Manchester and also nationally, which would not have been possible if primary data was needed (Veal, and Darcy, 2014). However, secondary research is not always useful, as the original purpose for the data was not used for the same reason as this research paper. This could mean data is interpreted differently and not used in the correct way (Veal, and Darcy, 2014).
Findings
Women and girls across the nation have lower activity levels than those of boys and men. 27.1% of women (603,000) in Manchester do fewer than 30 minutes of physical activity a week (Active Lives Adult Survey Update, 2018). This can be seen below in Figure 1.
From the data collected in the research, in central Manchester, 20.1- 40% of 18-25year old women, who are likely to have children, and could be a student/part – time worker are not participating in physical activity (Sport England, 2018). This was the largest percentage of inactivity levels found for women in Manchester.
In both East and South Manchester, participation was 10.1 – 20% in two different groups of women (Sport England, 2018). In East Manchester, it is found that women between 36 – 45 years old, that are married and might be part time skilled or stay at home mums are not physically active. This group tends to be mums juggling work, family and finance.
Low levels of physical activity in the south of Manchester, is women aged 26-45 years old, single, unemployed or part time/low skilled. Usually single mums with financial pressures, childcare issues and little time for pleasure
Girls are most active between the ages of 5-7 years old (Wilson and Platts, 2018) and become increasingly inactive from 10 years old, with only 18% of 5 – 15 year old girls meeting recommended activity levels compared to 24% of boys (Greater Sport, 2016).
Theory to discuss reasoning’s –
Despite 13 million women and girls across the UK saying they want to play more sport, nearly half of these are currently inactive (Sport England, 2018). Clearly, something is stopping women and girls taking part. For women across Manchester, there are several barriers that are preventing them from participation. For example, in central Manchester women said their main barrier is work commitments. A lot of women are now more career focused or have to work hard to support their families, this means it is important that they are achieving tasks/goals in work to support and provide for them. Working can then take up a lot of their spare time if they have deadlines or tasks that need to be completed, that cannot be achieved just in the work environment. However, the women that do have spare time to participate in physical activity do not seem to be choosing sport as a priority and a more likely to watch TV, spend time on the internet and emailing, spending time with family and friends or going to the cinema. Other factors, such as family commitments prevent women from participating, because they are single mums and finding childcare can become an issue for many. If they cannot find affordable childcare for their children, it means that they will have to look after them and not have the free time to participate in sports or physical activity.
Around the age of 10, girls are starting to go through puberty, which can have huge impacts on them psychologically. A lot of girls this age start to become worried about their appearance and the way people view them, which can negatively effect their self esteem. Research shows that in general female adolescents report greater body image dissatisfaction than males. For females, the relationship between body image and physical activity is a vicious circle; the more self-conscious they feel about their bodies, the less likely they are to take part in sport (Barriers to sports participation for women and girls, 2008). Transitions in life also had a negative impact on girls level of sports participation (Understanding participation in sport: What determines sports participation among 15-19 year old women?, 2006). There is a large decrease in activity, particularly in sport participation once young people leave school (Telama et al. 2005). This was due to having less time, less energy and social groups changing, leading to some feeling more self-conscious (Understanding participation in sport: What determines sports participation among 15-19 year old women?, 2006) Having a negative view on their body image would lead to a lack of self-confidence. Girls, on average, have less self- confidence than boys have and rate their performance or ability more negatively than do boys. The issue on self-confidence is also linked to competition. Although some women enjoy the competitive element of sport, many girls and women are turned off sport because it is competitive (Barriers to sports participation for women and girls, 2008).
In the previous findings for the women in Manchester, it showed that the sports they are more likely to be involved in are keep fit/gym activities, which do not involve any competition. This is one of the reasons why ‘aesthetic activities’, such as aerobics, gymnastics, yoga, are increasingly popular amongst girls and young women, and why some traditional team sports are less popular. (Barriers to sports participation for women and girls, 2008). The word ‘competition’ is usually associated with masculinity. This can cause issues, because a lot of females are turned away from ‘sport’ altogether, due to them seeing it as a male-dominated activity (Barriers to sports participation for women and girls, 2008). It is not seen as feminine or ‘girly’ to be interested in sport and, for many girls, the thought of being hot and sweaty renders them as unfeminine (Greater Sport, 2018).
Many women do not participate in sport and physical activity because they have little motivation to engage them in it. Motivation refers to “the reasons underlying behaviour” (Guay et al., 2010, p. 712). This means how people move themselves or others to act. People are often moved by external forces, such as rewards. Self – Determination theory, represents a broad framework for the study of human motivation and personality (Self Determination Theory, 2018). It is based on an individual’s drive to autonomously and successfully perform behaviours that are important to him and her. If women do not see physical activity as a priority and do not have the motivation to involve themselves, they are likely to find other activities or needs that direct them away from sport or physical activity participation. This can also be linked to the theory of reasoned action. Azjen and Fishbein (1977) believed that an action is based around an individual’s intent to perform a certain behaviour. The intention to perform the action is based on the individual’s attitude towards the behaviour and the social pressure to engage in it. If women and girls perceive sport and physical activity to have negative connotations around it, their attitude towards sport will be disengaged and therefore they will not be motivated to participate.
The Self Efficacy Theory (Bandura, 1977) suggests that self efficacy beliefs predict one’s behaviours, thought patterns and motivation. Individuals with high self efficacy will participate readily and more frequently, will put more effort in and persist longer, enhancing performance in sport and exercise (Bandura, 1986). During the initial stage of exercise participation, self efficacy is suggested to impact upon an individual’s performance strongest due to barriers such as fatigue and lack of time augmenting the perceived difficulty of maintaining the exercise (Oman and King, 1998). Individuals with higher self efficacy are more likely to put in the effort and persist, overcoming barriers such as fatigue or lack of time, leading to exercise maintenance (Griffiths, 2018).
Summary and Conclusions –
The purpose of this report is to identify the reasons why inactivity levels in women and girls in Manchester is low. Although women and girls in Manchester are participating in sport and physical activity higher than national average, inactivity levels are still high. It was found that across Manchester all age groups of females are not participating to meet the recommended guidelines for physical activity. Through this report, it found that the main barriers for not participating in physical activity and sport are work and family commitments, and the issues around body image.
Recommendations –
If girls are physically active they will be healthier, happier, have higher self-esteem and body confidence, and achieve more academically. Opportunities to get involved should be available to all girls regardless of race, religion, disability or socioeconomic group (Women In Sport Girls Strategy, 2016).
As a lot of females do not participate due to feeling self conscious or worrying about their body image, single – sex activities/sessions should be provided. These activities/sessions, should be staffed by women and make sure that they’re not running next to a men’s session; there’s no point running a women- only session in one half of a hall, only to have a men’s session in the other half (Barriers to sports participation for women and girls, 2008). Allowing the women only sessions, it allows all women and girls to get involved and be an active part of the activities and team, regardless of their skills and/or experience and not feeling self conscious. Another strategy to prevent females from feeling self conscious and to increase levels in physical activity, a variety of images could be used in publicity. A range of different females should be shown from all different ages, backgrounds and shapes, to not just show the idealised female figure. It’s important to have more females with disabilities as role models, to encourage those who live with them that they to can get involved. (Barriers to sports participation for women and girls, 2008).
Lack of motivation, is a main barrier preventing involvement in physical activity and sport for women. To increase motivation, it is suggested to find a training partner. Socialisation is a basic human need and by having a training partner, would satisfy social needs and increase motivation. Training partners can give you the vital encouragement to complete the session, but also make the sessions more enjoyable and entertaining (Robertson, 2018). If finding a training partner is not possible, contacting the local council or community centres for information on exercise classes/clubs, such as Zumba or a walking group (Physical activity for women, 2018).