The Psychology of Gender 4th Edition

Sex Differences in Health: Evidence and Explanations 373

also it exposes children to low-nutritional

foods via advertising (Jenvey, 2007).

Physical activity in childhood is impor-

tant because a pattern is set in motion that

persists into adulthood. Physical activity is

also important because it appears to be a de-

terrent to risk behavior. Participation in ath-

letics seems to be associated with lower drug

usage although the relations to alcohol are

contradictory (Connor, 2009; Fredricks &

Eccles, 2006). In other ways, physical activ-

ity is especially important to adolescent girls.

First, physical activity is related to a healthy

body image. One study showed that ado-

lescent girls who were physically active and

involved in sports were less depressed, in

part because they had a more positive view

of their bodies (Dishman et al., 2006). Sec-

ond, physical activity is a deterrent to sexual

in exercise (Segar, Spruijt-Metz, & Nolen-

Hoeksema, 2006).

One reason for the reduced rates of

physical activity among children is that

technological advances have made seden-

tary activities more appealing; these include

television, video games, computers, and cell

phones. Meyering (2005) refers to the cur-

rent children as Generation M with the “M”

standing for media. Today’s children and

teenagers are simultaneously surfing the In-

ternet, listening to music, and texting with

the television on in the background. One

study reported that children spend an aver-

age of 6.5 hours per day with media. Two-

thirds of children have televisions in their

bedrooms (Meyering, 2005). Researchers

have suggested that it is not only that televi-

sion viewing promotes sedentary activity but

FIGURE 10.8 The number of high school female and male students who participated in

team sports between 1971 and 2008. Female participation has dramatically increased.

Source: Adapted from National Federation of State High School Associations (2010).

Number of Participants

5,000,000

Participation in High School Athletic Programs: 1971 to 2008

4,500,000

4,000,000

3,500,000

3,000,000

2,500,000

2,000,000

1,500,000

1,000,000

Males

Females

500,000

0

1971

1973–741977–781979–801981–821983–841985–861987–881989–901991–921993–941995–961997–981999–002001–022003–042005–062007–08

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