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January 5, 2009Studies reveal lifelong gender difference in physical activity |
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From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Females of all ages are less active than their male peers. Two studies, presented today (Jan. 6) at a major academic conference, reveal the gender difference in activity levels among school children and the over 70s. Both studies show males to be more physically active than females. The two studies are being presented at the UK Society for Behavioural Medicine annual conference (incorporating the National Prevention Research Initiative conference) at the University of Exeter (UK). A study focusing on primary schools in Liverpool (UK) gives the first evidence of the difference in girls' and boys' activity levels in the playground. The preliminary results of a National Prevention Research Initiative (NPRI) funded project on activity levels among the over-70s mirror these results. Previous research has shown that people become less physically active as they grow older, but little is known about their activity patterns or what makes some more active than others. Schools should be aware of the differences between the way girls and boys behave in the playground and the fact that girls tend to favour small group activities. Ken Fox, Professor of Exercise and Health Sciences at the University of Bristol (UK), is leading Project OPAL (Older People and Active Living). Featuring high profile work from the UK's National Prevention Research Initiative, the conference focuses on how our behaviour affects our health, and the processes by which those behaviours can be altered to improve our health and prevent illness. Professor Adrian Taylor, of the School of Sport and Health Sciences, leads the University of Exeter's Mental and Physical Health Research Network which is organising the conference. He said: "Society and our environment are leading us to do increasingly less physical activity with adverse health consequences such as heart disease, diabetes and mental health problems for people of all ages. Studies like these are helping us to understand how physically active the UK population really is, which can then be used to inform how best to promote greater physical activity across all age groups."
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