SPORT, FITNESS, AND THE GENDER-GAP

Using large-scale and nationally representative surveys of the American public conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, the authors examined recent differences in the sport and fitness activities of men and women aged 18 or older. It was found that participation in sport and fitness activity declined by 12% between 1985 and 1990. Contrary to expectations, such declines were greater among women than men, thus increasing the gender gap in sport and fitness. Young women showed greater rates of decline than did older women, and the largest declines, amounting to more than 30 occasions of sport and fitness participation per year, were found among the youngest group of women in the sample. Such differences continued to be pronounced even when the influence of a variety of variables pertaining to biological, social, economic, and lifestyle statuses were controlled. A model for the analysis of such variables in relation to sport and fitness activity is presented.