Making sport fun again could keep more girls in the game, say Surrey researchers
Most girls (just) want to have fun when it comes to sport, and researchers from the University of Surrey say that forgetting this is driving many young women to quit.
In a study published by Cogent Psychology, researchers conducted in-depth interviews with 20 women aged 18 to 25 who had stopped taking part in swimming, gymnastics or ballet during their teenage years.
The study found that body image worries were a major reason why many of the young women gave up their sport. They often compared how their bodies looked and performed to others and usually felt they didn't measure up. Many participants also spoke about the pressure they felt from parents, coaches and schools, which made their sport less enjoyable and pushed them to drop out.
Gender stereotypes also played a role. Some girls were steered into sports that didn't suit them or were seen as "feminine". Others felt judged for not fitting the expected look or behaviour of a female athlete, making them feel out of place.
Professor Jane Ogden, lead author of the study from the University of Surrey, said:
"We need to get to grips with why so many girls disengage from sport, and this should be a red flag for anyone who cares about women's health. Too often, the sport they once loved stops being fun. They feel exposed in revealing uniforms, judged for how they look, and pressured by parents or coaches. If we want girls to stay active, we need to make sports feel safe and supportive."
According to Women in Sport, 43% of girls who once saw themselves as sporty no longer do so by the end of their teenage years, compared to just 24% of boys. The same report echoes the Surrey study, with many girls saying they feel judged (68%), lack confidence (61%) or are held back by schoolwork and body concerns. More than three-quarters avoid exercise during their period, and 73% say they dislike being watched while playing sport.
[ENDS]
Notes to editors
Professor Jane Ogden is available for interview; please contact mediarelations@surrey.ac.uk to arrange.
The full paper is available here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311908.2025.2516316
Journal
Cogent Psychology
Article Title
‘You’re basically naked’: a qualitative study of why girls drop out of sport in their teenage years
Focus on muscle metabolism: Sex differences in sport and obesity
The skeletal muscles of men and women process glucose and fats in different ways. A study conducted by the University Hospital of Tübingen, the Institute for Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases of Helmholtz Munich and the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) e.V. provides the first comprehensive molecular analysis of these differences. The results possibly give an explanation why metabolic diseases such as diabetes manifest differently in women and men – and why they respond differently to physical activity.
Skeletal muscles are far more than just “movement driving motors.” They play a central role in glucose metabolism and therefore also in the development of type 2 diabetes. This is due to the fact that around 85 percent of insulin-dependent glucose uptake takes place in the muscles. This means that if muscle cells react less sensitively to insulin, for example in the case of insulin resistance, glucose is less easily absorbed from the blood. This process is specifically counteracted by physical activity.
Women’s and Men’s Muscles Work Differently
The degree to which muscles work differently in women and men has long been underestimated. It is precisely this issue which has now been investigated by researchers led by Simon Dreher and Cora Weigert. They examined muscle biopsies from 25 healthy but overweight adults (16 women, 9 men) aged around 30 years. The test subjects had not taken part in regular sporting activities beforehand. Over a period of eight weeks, they completed one hour of endurance training three times a week, consisting of 30 minutes of cycling and 30 minutes of walking on the treadmill.
Muscle samples were taken before they started, after they had the first training session and at the end of the program. Using state-of-the-art molecular biological methods, including epigenome, transcriptome and proteome analyses, the team investigated sex-specific differences at various levels.
Men React with more Stress to Exercise
The result: The first training session triggered a stronger stress response at the molecular level in men, which became manifest in the increased activation of stress genes and the increase in the muscle protein myoglobin in the blood. In addition, male muscles showed a distinct pattern of what are called fast-twitch fibers, which are designed for short-term, intensive exercise and preferably use glucose as an energy source.
Women had significantly higher amounts of proteins that are responsible for the absorption and storage of fatty acids: an indication of more efficient fat utilization. After eight weeks of regular endurance training, the muscles of both sexes matched and the muscle fiber-specific differences decreased. At the same time, women and men produced more proteins that promote the utilization of glucose and fat in the mitochondria, the “power plants of the cells.”
“These adjustments indicate an overall improvement in metabolic performance, which can help to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes,” says Weigert. “In future, our new findings might help to better predict individual diabetes risks and tailor recommendations for exercise therapies more specifically to women and men.”
What happens next? The scientists now want to investigate the role sex hormones such as estrogen and testosterone play in these differences – and how hormonal changes in old age influence the risk of metabolic diseases.
Journal
Molecular Metabolism
Method of Research
Observational study
Subject of Research
People
Article Title
Sex differences in resting skeletal muscle and the acute and long-term response to endurance exercise in individuals with overweight and obesity
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