Women Get More Active, But in Different Ways

American women have moved off the sidelines and are now just aslikely as men to work out. But there are still significantdifferences in how each gender approaches exercise.

Men are more likely to exercise vigorously and pick sportsthat involve competition and physical contact, recent studiesindicate. Women typically choose moderate-intensity,fitness-oriented activity that involves cooperation and boostshealth. And women still face more barriers to exercise than men,particularly in carving out time to work out.

"Men are more likely to efface the body and women to embracethe body," says sociologist Don Sabo, project coordinator for theWomen's Sports Foundation's recent report, "Sports and Fitness in theLives of Working Women."

"The military model of male sports is hyper-competitive, withmen urged to sacrifice their body for the team. Women's athleticsare typically more cooperative, with health and fitness at the center, not necessarilywinning."

One reason for this difference is that men historically havebeen encouraged to play team sports, where they are often taught - asSabo says he was in football - "to push myself until I puked and beatup anyone who got in my way."

Women under 30 are more likely than older women to have takenpart in organized athletics, Sabo notes, since they were in schoolafter the enactment of Title IX in 1972, which mandated equalopportunity in sports participation. But even though today 37percent of high school athletes and 34 percent of inter-collegiateathletes are female, women still tend to gravitate more towardfitness activities than athletics.

"The guy stuff still exists," says Thomas B. Doyle, directorof information and research at the National Sporting GoodsAssociation. In 11 of the more than 50 sports surveyed by NSGA, 75percent or more of the participants were male. These includehunting, football, baseball, ice hockey, target shooting,skateboarding and martial arts.

"With the exception of golf," Doyle says, "the male-dominatedsports involve a fairly high degree of physical contact orabove-average risk of injury."

Women constitute a majority in 11 activities, primarily solosports or fitness-oriented pursuits. These include aerobicexercising, exercise walking, ice skating, croquet, horseback riding,calisthenics, badminton, swimming and exercising with equipment.

"Women are also slightly more likely than men to use a fitnessfacility," Doyle says. "Just over 51 percent of those who work outat clubs are women."

Men and women are equally likely to start or drop out of anexercise program, according to research by James Sallis, professor ofpsychology at San Diego State University.

"But women do tend to choose less vigorous activity," Sallissays. "Even in preschool, boys are typically more active at a higherintensity than girls." Complex factors play into thesedifferences say experts who cite socialization, biological tendenciesand discriminatory barriers. Also, married working women, who domost of the housework and childcare, have less time for exercise,particularly team sports that have rigid schedules, revealed theWomen's Sports Foundation's report. "It is usually easier to findtime for a walk, jog or Nautilus session than it is to organize ateam athletic event," the report notes.

Women are more likely than men to miss a planned exercisesession, even though they do manage to work out about the same numberof days per week as their male counterparts, revealed a study byPatricia Dubbert, chief psychologist at the Veteran's AdministrationHospital in Jackson, Miss. "The pattern suggests that women must tryharder and do more planning to complete the exercise they do,"Dubbert says.

But despite their differences, both sexes rely on exercise tocreate emotional, physical and social balance in their lives.

"Men have always found refuge in the locker room," sayssociologist Sabo. "Now women are discovering this same kind ofsanctuary in sports and fitness."