I was delighted to play a supportive role for the ASICS Move Her Mind study, led by Dr Dee Dlugonski. It is widely known that there is a “gender exercise gap” (i.e. women typically engage in substantially lower exercise levels compared to men). However, global and regional barriers, facilitators and actions to close this gap are unclear.
The aim of the Move Her Mind study was to fill these knowledge gaps and develop actionable steps according to global influences.
There are a number of important headline findings I wanted to illustrate to you.
The more women move the higher their state of mind
First, this study reaffirms earlier global work – the higher levels of physical activity were associated with higher State of Mind (wellbeing) scores. Given this, it is important to understand why are women engaging in much less exercise than men?
Barriers are multifaceted but there are clear action points
The global study of 24,772 people found that this gender exercise gap was due to an array of factors including lack of time, substantial other commitments and the costs associated with training. Of concern, two thirds of Mothers stated that the reason they stopped exercising was due to becoming a mother. It is a scandal that we see no where near this drop off in fathers when they have a child. Speaking as a staunch ally, this is an obvious point where us men have to step up and support women during motherhood to continue to be able to experience the uplift in their minds from exercise.
The influencers of exercise in women are closer to home than you think
I found it interesting to understand the influencers women reported on their exercise levels. I was expecting it to be sports stars, social media influencers or people of this nature. However, this was not the case – in fact, friends and people who are similar to them are the most important motivator to engage in exercise.
Record numbers of women report engaging in strength training
Interestingly, women are also breaking down stereotypes and our data shows that record numbers of women are engaging in strength training. Our recent work has shown the substantial benefits on the mind and brains of people and this is good news.
Men had different perceptions of the barriers that women face
I was taken back to understand the differences in the barriers that women face as reported by men and women. Men reported body insecurities, fear of harassment and fear of judgement as the top three exercise barriers for women. Now clearly these are important issues for many women and have to be addressed, but the barriers mentioned above by women were more commonly reported as being problematic. Further, only 34% of men recognised time as a barrier to exercise for women which is in stark contrast to the reality. Clearly, we have a lot of work to do.
Focus groups made a number of excellent suggestions on the next steps
As part of this work, over 20 focus groups were held across the world. Some very important recommendations were made including:
Creating accessible, affordable, safe and inclusive spaces for women within sport and exercise
Educating everyone about the specific needs of girls and women
Using visual representations of real women
Challenging gendered expectations for girls and women
Going on from here, there will be a number of ongoing initiatives to address this issue with measurable outcomes attached to this. I really hope this important report is the point where the exercise gap is eliminated.
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