Jessica Ennis-Hill: Olympic gold medallist says gender exercise gap is ‘really concerning’

Olympic gold medallist Jessica Ennis-Hill says the gender exercise gap is “really concerning”, and has called on there needs to be more funding at grassroots level.

A study led by Vitality in partnership with The Well HQ and Women in Sport has found that less than 1 in 4 (23 per cent) women are completing the recommended 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week.

A significant proportion of women surveyed stated body image concerns or a fear of being judged negatively impact their physical activity levels.

“I think it’s really concerning. I know the impact that exercise and sport has had on me throughout my careers and it’s been huge,” Ennis-Hill said on Sky Sports News.

“But to actually read that so many women aren’t having that level of exercise throughout various stages in their lives, and that it is decreasing, it’s really concerning. Not just for women who are in later stages of their lives, but also young girls coming through into sport and beyond.

“I think there’s various factors, whether that’s a lack of funding into grassroots sport for young girls or our relationship between sports and exercise becoming disjointed.

“It very much becomes a focus on losing weight and having a particular body type, as opposed to all those positive relationships you want to form with exercise from a young age.

“Then as you go through those life phases, you’re faced with the barriers of the work that you do, how often you can exercise, childcare, all the other things that come into your life at that later stage and it’s this massive cycle and has a huge impact on how active women are.”

The study shows there isn’t one particular group of women who are falling below the recommended levels of activity per week, in fact it’s women from across all age groups.

A staggering 82 per cent of women reported a lack of motivation while 41 per cent said weight management was their main reason for being active.

Additionally, 65 per cent of women agreed there was a lack of enjoyment indicating that their experience of physical activity and sports.

“I think it’s not an easy fix. There’s not one thing that has to be done that will make a massive impact and change,” Ennis-Hill added.

“Firstly, carrying out this research is a massive step to understand the barriers that women face with regards to exercising, but I think that there needs to be more funding at grassroots level.

“I think we need to work out how to provide more support to women in the workplace.

“How can we get more women exercising in groups and enjoying activity, as opposed to feeling like it’s a chore and lacking that motivation to carry it through various parts of their life?

“So there’s lots of different things, but I think having this research out there, understanding the barriers and trying to do something collectively about it is a big first step to making a change.”

The report also signposted actions for both the government and individuals to take including health checks for women at key life stages, such as pregnancy, postpartum care or menopause.

Expanding funding for grassroot sports and ensuring that existing projects provides inclusive sports facilities for women was also highlighted as a significant step in closing the gap.

“Outdated systems, stereotyping and a lack of tailored provision are holding women back,” said Women in Sport CEO, Stephanie Hilborne OBE.

“We urgently need to redesign how health systems, workplaces and the sports industry support women across every life stage.

“It’s essential to create the right environments and opportunities to enable more women to be active.”

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