Barriers persist for fitness in girls

MINNEAPOLIS, April 15 (UPI) -- U.S. girls are participating in sports in record numbers, but their physical activity outside of organized sports is declining, U.S. researchers said.

A report released by the University of Minnesota's Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport said girls' participation rates in all types of physical activities consistently lag behind those of boys and girls' dropout rates are higher contributing to obesity levels.

The report also said outdated, stereotypical standards of femininity and masculinity continue to influence the extent to which girls participate in or shun physical activity.

"Female athletes continue to be trivialized through the popular media's widespread sexualization of women and traditional models of physical education organized around competition, team sports, power, strength and aggression which focus on the "motor elite" rather than skill development, disadvantage girls," the report said.

"Poverty substantially limits many girls' access to, and participation in, physical activity and sport, especially for girls of color who are overrepresented in lower socioeconomic groups," report author Nicole LaVoi said in a statement.

The report is at: http://www.tuckercenter.org.