Studies reveal lifelong gender differences in physical activity
13 January 2009
Females of all ages are less active than their male peers. Two studies reveal the gender difference in activity levels among school children and the over 70s. Both studies show men and boys to be more physically active than women and girls.
The two studies were presented at the UK Society for Behavioural Medicine annual conference (incorporating the National Prevention Research Initiative conference) at the University of Exeter in early January.
The A-CLASS Project, which focused on primary schools in Liverpool, provides the first evidence of the difference in girls’ and boys’ activity levels in the playground. The findings reveal that girls take part in 6% less vigorous playtime activity than boys. The researchers also found a correlation between large group activities and moderate-vigorous physical activity.
Scientists at the UK Society for Behavioural Medicine annual conference
The second study, OPAL (Older People and Active Living), was funded by the National Prevention Research Initiative (NPRI). The research team presented preliminary results of a study of activity levels among the over-70s, their findings mirrors those of the playground study. Previous research has shown that people become less physically active as they grow older, but little is known about their activity patterns or what makes some more active than others. The results so far show men to be significantly more active than women.
Notes
The National Prevention Research Initiative (NPRI) was originally funded through a partnership of the following organisations: British Heart Foundation; Cancer Research UK; Chief Scientist Office, Scottish Government Health Directorate; Department of Health; Diabetes UK; Economic and Social Research Council; Food Standards Agency; Health & Social Care Research & Development Office for Northern Ireland; Medical Research Council; The Stroke Association; Welsh Assembly Government; and World Cancer Research Fund. The following organisations have joined the NPRI funding partnership recently to help support further research in the future: Alzheimer’s Research Trust; Alzheimer’s Society; Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council; and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
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