FACTS ABOUT GIRLS WHO ARE ACTIVE

1. The top 5 reasons girls say they play sports are to have fun, to stay in shape, to get exercise, to improve skills and to do something they are good at.
2. T Physical activity decreases as the ages of girls increases.
3. T Girls drop out of sport at a rate that is six (6) times higher greater than boys by the age of 14.
4. T 50% of 9-year old females and 80% of 10-11 year old females are on some type of diet.
5. T By age 18, more than 50% of women perceive themselves as too fat, despite having normal body weight.
6. T If a girl does not participate in sport by the time she is 10, there is only a 10% chance that she will participate when she is 25.
7. T DON’T BECOME A STATISTIC!
8. The Benefits of Physical Activity
9. T Have healthier weights, lower levels of blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure than nonexercising women.
10. T Moderate physical activity can significantly reduce the risk of developing or dying from heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer, and high blood pressure.
11. T Have a reduced risk of developing breast cancer. Girls who participate in as little as 4 hours of exercise per week may reduce their lifelong risk of breast cancer (a disease that affects 1 out of every 8 women) by up to 60%.
12. T Have a reduced risk of developing osteoporosis (loss of bone mass). Mental
13. T Have enhanced mental health through physical activity with more positive feelings about body image, improved self-esteem, feelings of competency and success and are at a lower risk for developing depression.
14. T Enjoy higher levels of self-confidence, stronger self-images, and more skill and experience with physical activity that inactive women. 15. T And who participate in sports, are more likely to experience academic success and graduate from high school than those who do not play sports.
16. T Exercise and sport participation can be used as therapeutic and preventative intervention for enhancing the physical and mental health of adolescent females.
17. T Feel greater confidence, self-esteem, and pride in their physical and social selves than those who were sedentary as kids
18. T Have more avenues to meet new friends and do fun things than girls who are not active
19. T Teenage female athletes are more likely to have positive body images and less likely to
use drugs, less likely to be suicidal, less likely to smoke than female non-athletes.
20. T Teenage female athletes are more than half as likely to have an unwanted pregnancy than female non-athletes.