April 05, 2015
The Fear Of Being Laughed At Causes Women to Skip Working Out
Millions of women are skipping out on their exercise because they fear being "judged." No one wants to be ridiculed for struggling to keep up, being sweaty or out of breath. This fear has some women going as far as running in secret on treadmills installed in their garden sheds.
The recommended level of exercise is two and a half hours over the course of a week. The numbers, from a report by MPs on the Commons’ Health Select Committee, show that over two thirds of women, 68%, are not hitting this total. When compared to the 56% of men who do not hit this weekly target, that 68% seems staggeringly high.
Tory MP Dr Sarah Wollaston, chairman of the Committee, said: "It is unacceptable that this gender gap has been ignored for so long. We need to be out there ensuring that girls can access the type of sport they want to take part in." And Labour MP Barbara Keeley said girls, aged 10-12, are dropping out of games lessons because they don't want to show 'puppy fat.'
Julie Creffield, a motivational speaker who encourages women to exercise, was told by her GP that she was too fat to run the London Marathon even though she had run 18 miles the week before. Proving him wrong became her motivation and she completed the event in 2013. Creffield says that women are afraid to attend gym classes or join running clubs because they don't want to be the one 'struggling in the back.' This appears particularly true for overweight women or those who have gained weight after having children. She says, "Because we don’t see many overweight women exercising in public, other women don’t think exercise is for them."
Ladies, let's change these numbers. Lack of exercise can be just as harmful as tobacco (tobacco contributes to 1 in 6 deaths in the UK) so take comfort in knowing that sweating is normal and you won't always be the one struggling in the back. You're awesome, you got this.
https://youtu.be/aN7lt0CYwHg
Tory MP Dr Sarah Wollaston, chairman of the Committee, said: "It is unacceptable that this gender gap has been ignored for so long. We need to be out there ensuring that girls can access the type of sport they want to take part in." And Labour MP Barbara Keeley said girls, aged 10-12, are dropping out of games lessons because they don't want to show 'puppy fat.'
Julie Creffield, a motivational speaker who encourages women to exercise, was told by her GP that she was too fat to run the London Marathon even though she had run 18 miles the week before. Proving him wrong became her motivation and she completed the event in 2013. Creffield says that women are afraid to attend gym classes or join running clubs because they don't want to be the one 'struggling in the back.' This appears particularly true for overweight women or those who have gained weight after having children. She says, "Because we don’t see many overweight women exercising in public, other women don’t think exercise is for them."
Ladies, let's change these numbers. Lack of exercise can be just as harmful as tobacco (tobacco contributes to 1 in 6 deaths in the UK) so take comfort in knowing that sweating is normal and you won't always be the one struggling in the back. You're awesome, you got this.
https://youtu.be/aN7lt0CYwHg