As a mum of teenage girls, I want them to be happy, healthy, strong and the best version of themselves now and throughout their lives. Ensuring they’re active and move in ways they enjoy has been a priority but it’s getting harder now they’ve hit their teenage years.
Innovation is improving lives in many ways, but it can also facilitate less movement. I heard that a recent American study calculated that the average person scrolls the equivalent of three marathons a year on their phone screens! From Deliveroo to Amazon and Zoom and Snapchat, it has never been easier to get through our day with little movement…unless we make it a priority.
As we celebrate Women and Girls in Sports Week, I look at why we need to prioritise physical activity and movement for women and girls, and why walking and wheeling (using a wheelchair or mobility scooter) has a critical role in maintaining women’s health over the life course. I celebrate female leaders in communities throughout Scotland who are changing lives through inspiring and enabling others to be active.
Moving is good for our mental, physical and social health. It makes us feel good, energises us and boosts our mood, concentration and immunity. Critically, there is vast amounts of evidence about the longer term impacts of keeping us well, preventing diseases and enabling us to live longer and with a better quality of life and independence as we age.
Indeed, the Chief Medical Officers advocate that “If physical activity were a drug, we would refer to it as a miracle cure, due to the great many illnesses it can prevent and help treat.”
The Gender Gap in Physical Activity
All women and girls deserve to feel the benefits of being active but many experience significant barriers throughout their life leading to profound inequalities in their levels of activity compared to men and boys.
- 43% of 13 - 15 year old girls are meeting the recommended physical activity levels compared to 65% of boys (Scottish Health Survey, 2022). We find this figure drops dramatically in the upper end of this age range, and by age 15, only 12% of girls are meeting the recommended levels*.
- This gender inequality continues through life with 10% fewer women than men reaching the recommended levels of physical activity (Scottish Health Survey, 2022).*
- These inequalites are even more pronounced in women on lower incomes and from ethnic minority groups and those who may be living with a long term condition whom have less access to physical activity
Overcoming life's challenges through physical activity
The challenges that females face are complex and highly individual. Evolving through our life stages including… teenagers struggling with fluctuating hormones, periods and feeling self-conscious… to the challenges of women juggling work and families and feeling guilt for investing time in themselves… navigating the peri/menopause life stage… to maintaining independence as an older adult.
The irony is that being active can support women to navigate these life stages. We need to understand these challenges and work intentionally to remove barriers that stand in the way. Giving women not just the motivation but the capability and opportunity to move in ways that suit them and that they can enjoy as part of an active and healthy lifestyle is key.
Women’s relationship with sport and formal ‘exercise’ can be complex so we must open the box and work with women and girls to offer support and invest in activities and environments that enable us to move in ways that we enjoy and that can adapt to suit us throughout life.
Walking and wheeling: accessible and effective
Walking and wheeling (using the likes of a wheelchair or mobility scooter) can help us to be more active, more often. Walking and wheeling are accessible and do not require additional costly equipment or memberships. Walking can be done alone or in groups, having a powerful impact on our mental health. Even more so if walking in nature. Walking for enjoyment, for health but also to get from A to B instead of taking the car. Every little counts to improving health. Its simplicity means that it’s often massively underestimated but it’s the gold standard in terms of getting moving and is celebrated by health professionals for its ability to improve population physical, mental and social health.
The power of community
We are pack animals and are far more likely to do something if our friends, family and the people that we admire do it too. The impact of peers and role models that we can relate to is hugely powerful, helping to break down barriers, providing support and inspiring behaviour change. Seeing someone we identify with being active and feeling good as a result is incredibly powerful.
Celebrating female leaders
The focus of this year’s Women and Girls in Sport Week is leadership, and I would like to take this opportunity to celebrate the work of women and girls in communities throughout Scotland who are inspiring and enabling others to get active through walking and wheeling.
Despite walking and wheeling being the most accessible form of activity, some people experience significant barriers and local leaders play an important role in supporting people to participate.
Paths for All supports over 870 weekly, safe and sociable Health Walks delivered by hundreds of projects all over Scotland aimed at getting the inactive active. These walks are led by a dedicated army of thousands of trained volunteer Health Walk Leaders who have a powerful impact within their communities. By creating safe, friendly and welcoming environments for Health Walks, they actively and compassionately reduce barriers to attending and inspire participants to keep coming back week after week.
Two thirds of Health Walk participants are women who are feeling the mental, physical and social benefits of being more active thanks to the work of these local leaders.
To hear more, watch this video showing the power of our local Walk Leaders to change lives in Renfrewshire.
In recent years Paths for All has been working with schools and partners including Active Schools, to pilot and develop our Walk Leader approach within the school setting. The need for this has come into sharp focus given the worrying stats that I have shared. The programme, while for all pupils, has a primary focus on teenage girls. Walking is a valuable addition to the range of sports and PE opportunities delivered in schools in and around the school day. Training young people to lead walks, we are seeing them step into the space of leaders, developing skills and embracing their role inspiring and enabling their peers to get active through walking. Watch this video featuring the amazing leaders at Balfron High School.
Maintaining good strength and balance is crucial for women's health throughout life, becoming especially critical as we age to maintain independence and reduce frailty. However, only 24% of women incorporate the recommended two days of strength activity, dropping to 4% for women over 75. At Paths for All, we recognise the complexity of promoting Strength and Balance activities.
Since 2013, we've trained over 2,300 walk leaders to deliver evidence-based exercises during Health Walks and encourage home practice, reinforcing our motto: keeping strong keeps you walking.
To conclude this celebration of Women and Girls in Sports Week, I recognise that as parents, community leaders, and advocates, our goal is to empower women and girls through physical activity. By prioritising movement, especially through accessible means like walking and wheeling, we're not just promoting health – we're fostering happiness, strength, and resilience. Together, we can create a future where every woman and girl feels empowered to move, thrive, and lead – one step at a time.
You can support Scottish Women and Girls in Sport Week 2024 by following Active Scotland on X (formerly Twitter) and sharing your message using the campaign hashtags #SheCanSheWill #LetsMoveTogether
*CMO guideline
The Chief Medical Officer recommend that to maintain health we should do 150 minutes of moderate activity per week and or 75 minutes vigorous activity per week, that we incorporate activities to build strength at least 2 days a week and older Adults are recommended to do activities to increase balance 2 days a week.