372 Chapter 10Rates of physical activity among chil-
dren have decreased dramatically. In 2009,
46% of high school boys and 28% of high
school girls said that they had been physi-
cally active for five of the past seven days
(Centers for Disease Control and Preven-
tion, 2010a). Similarly, the percentage of
girls who said that they had not engaged in
any physical activity in the past seven days
was higher (30%) than that of boys (17%).
The rate was especially high among Black
girls (44%).
The kind of exercise in which females
and males engage differs (Jacobs et al., 2005).
Females are more likely to be involved in in-
dividual sports and noncompetitive exercise,
whereas males are more likely to be involved
in team sports. In fact, one reason boys get
more exercise than girls is that boys are more
likely to participate in sports, especially team
sports. In 2009, 64% of boys and 52% of girls
in grades 9 through 12 participated in team
sports. The sex difference was smaller for
Whites (64% vs. 58%) than Blacks (68% vs.
47%) and Hispanics (62% vs. 45%). How-
ever, the number of girls who participated in
high school athletic programs has dramati-
cally increased over the past 30 years (see
Figure 10.8). In college, the four sports that
had the most male participants were football,
baseball, track, and soccer; the leading sports
for girls were soccer, track, softball, and bas-
ketball. Soccer, in particular, has skyrocketed
among girls. Twice as many girls play soccer
today as they did 15 years ago.
The motives for exercise also dif-
fer (Waldron, 1997); men are motivated by
competition, whereas women are motivated
by concerns about appearance and weight
control. Unfortunately, body shape motives
are associated withlowerlevels of physical
activity compared to other motives for ex-
ercise, such as health and intrinsic interesthypertension, some cancers (e.g., colon cancer),
Type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, and depression.
The recommended guidelines for
physical activity are to engage in moderate-
intensity exercise, such as brisk walking, bi-
cycling, gardening, vacuuming, or anything
that causes a small increase in breathing or
heart rate, for 30 minutes five days per week
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
2010e). In 2007, just under half of adults met
these guidelines. More men than women
exercise (see Figure 10.7 for an exception),
but the size of the sex difference depends on
race. Slightly more White men than women
exercise (54% vs. 50%), more Black men than
women exercised (45% vs. 36%), and a simi-
lar percentage of Hispanic men and women
exercise (43% vs. 42%).FIGURE 10.7 Adult women exercising.
Adult women are less likely than adult men
to exercise, and even less likely to be involved
in competitive exercise.M10_HELG0185_04_SE_C10.indd 372 6/21/11 8:54 AM