April/May 2023 Aspire Magazine FULL Issue | Page 57

57

Women and Sports :

IT ’ S ALL ABOUT ENERGY & PERCEPTION

HEALTH & WELLNESS
BY CYNDI DALE

When I was growing up , there were three main sports open to a female : cheerleading , dance line , and gymnastics . ( I choose dance line , as I was totally okay with skipping anything to do with a ball .) Times have changed . Look at the fantastic following of the 2019 Women ’ s Football World Cup !

And yet … with more equal opportunity for athletics available to younger ages , once finished with high school , exercise rates amongst women plunge . The fall is especially steep amongst young black women . 1 In adult females ? The gender gap persists . While a well-respected health index has found that 38 percent of women between 16 and 24 yearsof-age haven ’ t exercised within a year , that figure rises to 48 percent in women between 24 and 64 years-of-age . A LOT more young and adult men exercise more than that .

57