The main goal of the three-year Boston Girls’ Sports & Physical Activity Project (BGSPAP) was to create an integrated and sustainable network of community-based programs that use sports and physical activity to favorably influence the physical, psychological, and social development of urban girls. The BGSPAP aimed to provide economically disadvantaged urban girls with opportunities to participate in sports and physical activity. The BGSPAP also aspired to upgrade sports and physical activity programming for girls in order to overcome gender biases built into the Boston schools and community programs. The number and quality of sports and exercise programs for Boston girls were not at par with those of Boston boys (National Women’s Law Center, 2004; Harvard School of Public Health, 2002).

This report highlights key indicators of the status of both physical activity and health for Hispanic female youth in Texas with particular emphasis on the San Antonio metropolitan area; these indicators are then compared with national averages in order to contextualize the results.

The health of today’s girls is threatened by inactivity. Physical activity plays a significant role to reduce health risks such as obesity, heart disease, osteoporosis, breast cancer, unintended pregnancy and lack of self-esteem among others. Hispanic girls are at greater risk than non-Hispanic girls for most of these health risks and more likely to be sedentary. Very little research has focused on the relationship between physical activity and health within the young Hispanic population, with the exception of the groundbreaking Women’s Sports Foundation Report: Minorities in Sports (Sabo, Melnick and Vanfossen, 1989). The current report highlights key indicators of the status of both the status of physical activity and health for Hispanic female youth in the Chicago metropolitan area; these indicators are then compared with national averages in order to contextualize the results.

This report highlights key indicators of both the status of physical activity and health for female youth in the Chicago metropolitan area; these indicators are then compared with national averages in order to contextualize the results. Overall, this report shows that female youth in the Chicago areas are not getting sufficient physical activity, either through sports teams or independent fitness programs.

This report highlights key indicators of both the status of physical activity and health for female youth in the Atlanta metropolitan area and the state of Georgia; these indicators are then compared with national averages in order to contextualize the results. Overall, this report shows that female youth in the Atlanta and Georgia areas are not getting sufficient physical activity, either through sports teams or physical education courses in school.

“Her Life Depends On It,” is the most comprehensive compilation of research to date about the impact of physical activity on the physical, psychological and cultural health of girls. The report points to physical activity and sport as fundamental solutions for many of the serious health and social problems faced by girls. These include obesity, heart disease, substance abuse, teen pregnancy and depression – which accounts for much of the more than $1 trillion spent on healthcare for treating these issues.

Download the complete research report below. Educate yourself–and then take action.

Offers a comprehensive evaluation of the linkages, both positive and negative, between sport and adolescent health risks. The Women’s Sports Foundation presents these findings in order to foster serious dialogue over the benefits and risks of adolescent athletic participation. The fact that sports has positive impacts on many young people’s lives cannot be argued. This report analyzes some of the multifaceted connections of the sports experience to the health, safety, and fitness of American teenagers.

Read the full report below.

This study fills a major gap in research, revealing that sports may well be an untapped resource in the nation’s struggle to prevent teen pregnancy. Many Americans believe that sports help to lower girls’ risk for pregnancy. Parents breathe easier because their daughters are busy and chaperoned while attending after-school sports programs. Coaches tell stories about girls for whom the self-esteem supplied by sports helped ward off peer pressures to have sex. Some corporate advertisers point to sport as a key solution to the problem of teen pregnancy.

Until now, how and why working women integrate sports and fitness activities into their personal and professional lives has been the subject of speculation and not much research. This study is the first to explore the role of sports and exercise in the lives of women who work outside the home.

The Miller Lite Report on Sports and Fitness in the Lives of Working Women is based on a national random sample of 1,577 American women working in white-collar occupations and professions. These range from executives, professionals, administrators and managers to technicians, sales and clerical personnel. About two-thirds of American working women are employed in these fields.

Among the more significant findings of the research is that most working women participate in some kind of sports activity. And they believe that these activities have positive effects that help them on the job.

Wilson Sporting Goods and Co. and the Women’s Sports Foundation have commissioned a major nationwide survey to study the influence of parents and family factors on girls’ participation in sports. The Wilson Report: Moms, Dads, Daughters and Sports marks the first large-scale, nationwide and inter-generational survey of the female sport experience.