Physical Activity and Women

Physical Activity and Women

Social inequality, poverty and inequitable access to resources, including health care, result in a high burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) among women worldwide and though women generally tend to live longer with NCDs than men, they are often in poor health.

Regular physical activity can improve women's health and help prevent many of the diseases and conditions that are major causes of death and disability for women around the world such as cardiovascular diseases which accounts for one-third of deaths among women around the world and half of all deaths in women over 50 years old in developing countries and diabetes which affects more than 70 million women in the world and its prevalence is projected to double by 2025.

Osteoporosis is a disease in which bones become fragile and more likely to break and is Physical Activity has also been associated with improved psychological health by reducing levels of stress, anxiety and depression which is particularly important for women who are twice as likely as men to develop these conditions.

It has also been suggested that physical activity can contribute to building self-esteem and confidence and can provide a vehicle for social integration and equality for women in society.

Many factors hinder the participation of women in physical activity and their access to health care - their income is often lower than that of men and therefore the costs of access to physical activity facilities may be a barrier - senior members of the household who control household resources may have to agree before a woman can engage in physical activity - also women often have a workload in the home and care-giving roles for other family members which may limit the time available for them to engage in physical activity - women who have limited mobility may be unable to travel to health centres.

Physical activity may also be restricted by cultural expectations and women in rural and in low income urban areas women may also be already physically exhausted by other forms of day-long "occupational" physical activities.