I attended a British Psychological Society webinar earlier this week about ‘Involving girls and women in sport and physical activity across the life course’. Though I am not a Sport and Exercise Psychologist, or a Health Psychologist (I do hold a masters in Health Psychology), this is an area that is of great interest to me.

The presentations covered different areas of the lifespan from childhood, through adolescence and adulthood, until the menopause.

The literature shows that physical activity has positive effects on mental health and wellbeing. I was excited to find out more about recent research and what can be done to encourage more girls and women to participate in sports and physical activity. Girls and women often report lower levels of physical activity than their male counterparts and participation in physical activity decreases more for females than males during adolescence.

There were some fascinating presentations about the work people have done to encourage involvement in sports from a young age, and work promoting physical activity to women. This highlighted some important differences, especially for pregnant people who may need advice and support around physical activity. Some barriers to participating in physical activity were identified – including negative thoughts about exercise and feelings of guilt around physical activity. Periods, access to childcare, and a lack of confidence were other barriers that were mentioned.

Some themes that stood out to me that were mentioned in many of the presentations were the importance of sports and physical activity being fun, and the importance of social connections and community linked to the activity.

This reflects what I have learned in my many years as a distance runner. I have found the events where I had a good time are much more enjoyable than the events where I did a good time. The fun, social events and activities are the ones that I am more likely to return to, and tell other people about! Although distance running can be a very solitary activity, I noticed that I really missed being able to take part in regular runs with other members of my running club during the various covid lockdowns and restrictions.

My take home message from the evening was that being physically active is good for your physical health and your mental health and well-being in many ways. Find something you enjoy and you are more likely to keep doing it and feel the benefits.

It doesn’t matter what you do. All activity is good!

Taryn
11th Dec 2021