- Increased strength, stamina and flexibility
- Helps maintain a healthy body weight
- Improves fitness and heart health
- Decreased incidence of stress and depression
- Increased self-esteem
- Positive body image
- Opportunities to have fun and interact with friends and family
Research has identified the main factors that influence adolescent girl’s participation in sport. It recognised that growing up; challenge seeking and social factors were the three most derived motivations for teenage girls (Gillison, F, Sebire, S, & Standage, M 2012). These motivators are linked with the benefits of physical activity that have been outlined above. Adolescent girls consider the physical activity assists in them growing up, influencing their future health state, in creating their own independence, defining who they are and changing their ways of thinking (Gillison, F, Sebire, S, & Standage, M 2012). It is challenging for teenage girls to create a positive body image when they are surrounded by peer pressures and the fear of always being judged. Shilbury & Kellett (2012, p. 264) identifies “a positive experience in sport has the capacity to contribute to the development of positive self-esteem”. This increase in self-esteem can assist in recognising what one can achieve during physical activity and through this consistent physical activity, will result in another benefit in seeing an improved body image and maintenance of current body weight.
Research also showed that challenge seeking in
physical activity is a motivator for adolescent girls (Gillison, F, Sebire, S, &
Standage, M 2012). Challenge
seeking included elements of feeling a sense of achievement, creating goals and
self-development. When you are a teenager, you are confronted with a number of
challenging decisions. Creating goals is going to help short and
long term, and help define what needs to be done to reach them. Self –development is associated with the
main benefits of physical activity in improving self-esteem and a positive body
image. Challenge seeking will be applicable in a physical activity setting, but
it will help in the long term, to learn how to overcome major challenges that occur. The final motivator derived
through this study was the social factors associated with physical activity (Gillison, F, Sebire, S, &
Standage, M 2012). Teenage
girls love being able to socialise with their friends, as they play such a
large factor in growing up. Physical activity allows social interaction with
others, social enjoyment and affiliation with adults. The affiliation with
adults also relates back to the first motivator of growing up, as they can be
significantly influenced by the older generation. The opportunity to have fun
and interact with family and friends (Better Health Channel 2013) is another
key benefit of physical activity so large emphasis should be placed on this in
trying to motivate these teenage girls so they can be encouraged to get
involved, and more so stay involved, in physical activity.
Considering the above factors that were outlined in the study, and
recognising the main benefits of physical activity, it is the adolescent girls
that need to be made aware of the importance of physical activity. The motivators,
and the benefits, need to be key selling points when promoting physical education
to girls. The benefits of physical activity are not only current in their
teenage years, but they play a significant role leading into the future. All of
these motivators complement each other. To make a difference in the appropriate
age groups, the benefits of physical activity need to be understood to
motivate adolescent girls. With correct exposure to these benefits and improved
understanding, the adolescent girls will recognise how vital it is that they
participate in physical activity and we can only hope, this will see an increase in our participation levels.
References
- Better Health Channel 2013, Teenage girls – getting them active: fact sheet, State of Victoria, viewed 22 October 2013, http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcpdf.nsf/ByPDF/Teenage_girls_getting_them_active/$File/Teenage_girls_getting_them_active.pdf
- Gillison, F, Sebire, S, & Standage, M 2012, 'What motivates girls to take up exercise during adolescence? Learning from those who succeed', British Journal Of Health Psychology, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 536-550, SPORTDiscus with Full Text, EBSCOhost, viewed 1 November 2013.
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