Improving Women's Health

Chris Lillistone — Tue, 25 May 2010 10:01:50 +0000

WSFF is often asked ‘what are the health benefits of girls and women taking part sport and exercise?’ And we say – there are so many! This NEW factsheet highlights the considerable research that has been carried out which demonstrates the benefits of exercise on physical, mental and social health and the benefits to women and girls. (May 25th 2010).

Health_benefits.pdf

[email protected]">[email protected]

Creating a nation of active women: A framework for change

testuser — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:11:17 +0000

Creating a Nation of Active Women provides the framework to address the crisis detailed in It’s time. But it’s more than a strategy for change. It is a stark call-to-action for those with the power and responsibility to effect that change.

A national target has been set for two million more people to be more active by 2012, of which at least one million should be women. But with 24 million women not doing enough physical activity, that should be only the beginning.

With practical recommendations, the strategy provides a framework, compromising three key imperatives, for those who develop policy and design, and who deliver and promote sport and exercise for women and girls.

Creating_a_Nation_of_Active_Women.pdf

Sweat in the City: How 2000 young women discovered the positive power of exercise

admin — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 20:18:14 +0000

This report details the innovative research project Sweat in the City which project provided over 2000 inactive 16 – 24 year old women a three month free and mentored gym membership and followed their journey.

The project was designed to gain a better understanding of how to motivate women to become more active. Today, 16 year-old girls leave school half as active as their male counterparts, often with a negative attitude to sport and fitness and with critically low levels of confidence. This programme set out to create a fitness experience that would appeal to this audience, change their attitude to exercise and lead to a more active and healthier way of life.

SitC was designed and delivered by a partnership between the Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation (WSFF) and the Fitness Industry Association (FIA).

Key elements of the programme were personal mentoring and opportunities to ‘meet’ other participants through group sessions and via the SitC website. The young women were successfully recruited with the help of a feminine brand and celebrity ambassadors who fronted a tailored PR campaign. All that was asked in return was for the women to share their highs, lows, aches and pains with us through surveys, focus groups and online diaries.

The results surpassed even our highest hopes:

• Six months after completing the programme, 72% of participants are more active than they were before

• Before the programme, 63% of participants were worried about what they looked like when they exercised. This dropped to just under half

• 88% of participants agreed that ‘SitC has reminded me how good it feels to be active’

• Three-quarters of the young women now have increased confidence to go on and try new activities

“There is no way that I am giving exercise up again now, I feel so much better in myself – better mood, lots more energy etc. Even though I don’t always want to go to the gym, I know I’ll feel so much better once I’ve actually been!”

SitC_Report.pdf

London Playing Fields Foundation - Active Angels

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 23:20:53 +0000

"Participants were empowered to be ambassadors to promote the project within their school. They were also encouraged to Activate an Angel and bring a friend with them to sessions."

Active Angels is an innovative multi-activity project that aims to contribute to the health of 14-16 year old girls by encouraging and sustaining their participation in sporting activity. It focuses on girls who are currently active but who are at risk of adopting sedentary lifestyles once they have left school. The project has been providing opportunities for girls to participate in sports and physical activity in a non-competitive, friendly and supportive environment since 2004.

Project detailsProject duration: 01 January 2004 - 01 January 2004

Organisation:

London Playing Fields Foundation

Project name:

Active Angels

AudienceSchools

Age group:

0 - 15

Age group:

16 - 24

Innovation

What makes the project so innovative is that is it customer focussed, responding to the needs of the girls rather than to a prescribed syllabus or fixture list. Active Angels targets a new type of participant – now known as the semi-sporty. The coaches were all recruited from local clubs so that if the girls developed a particular interest in an activity and wished to pursue it then they already had links established with a local club. Year 11 pupils were mentored and action plans were developed to help them identify opportunities to maintain their activity levels once they left school.

Recruitment and promotion

LPFF worked closely with the Partnership Development Manager and the Community Sports Coach to ensure that the project was promoted within the local schools. The Project Coordinator visited each school and made presentations to the appropriate Year Groups during assemblies and PE lessons and put up posters. An emphasis was placed on recruiting girls who were not participating in sport or physical activity outside school and PE teachers were asked to refer pupils they thought would benefit from the project. Participants were empowered to be Ambassadors to promote the project within their school. They were also encouraged to “Activate an Angel” and bring a friend with them to sessions. Before the start of each term reminder postcards were sent to previous participants with details of sessions.

Location

Local

How was your project delivered?Hockey, netball, badminton, football, swimming, aerobics, spinning, street dance, gym, ice blading, salsa, pilates, boxercise

Hockey, netball, badminton, football, swimming, aerobics, spinning, street dance, gym, ice blading, salsa, pilates, boxercise

Funding

Phase 1 of the project (2004 – 2007) was funded through an Active England grant. Phase 2 of the project is being funded through Waltham Forest Youth Support Service.

Partnership

Partnerships were established with the Waltham Forest Northern School Sports Partnership, Waltham Forest PCT, Waltham Forest Healthy Schools Coordinator, WF Community Sports Coach, Leyton Orient Community Sports Programme, Greenwich Leisure Limited, Women’s Sports & Fitness Foundation and Pro Active North London.

Results

Lessons:

The key lesson learnt was the need to tailor the activity programme to the needs of the girls. For example, the intention was to deliver activity sessions throughout the three school terms; however the attendance figures dropped from January until March when the evenings were cold and dark and so a decision was made to cancel sessions during this period. The coaching style of the instructors was also a key factor in keeping the girls engaged. They were asked to focus on making their sessions fun and sociable and encouraging participation and rather than performance coaching. When the girls provided negative feedback about particular instructors the Project Coordinator approached them and asked them to adapt their sessions. If they were unable to accommodate this request then they were replaced by more suitable candidates.

Evaluation:

The project was evaluated at the end of Phase 1 which showed that 380 girls had participated over the three year period. 39% of these girls were in Year 11 and 23% in Year 10. 16% of attendees were in Year 12 which demonstrates that participants were keen to keep attending Active Angels after they had left school. Twenty girls joined the gym using the concessionary scheme offered by Greenwich Leisure Limited in order to increase their participation rates. At the start and end of each term a monitoring questionnaire was completed by participants to measure the difference in their attitudes to the benefits of physical activity as part of a healthy lifestyle. The results showed that the girls all thought their health had improved through participating in the programme and they had a greater understanding of the positive effects that physical activity had on their physical and mental health.

Themes

Tackling drop-off

In order to try and prevent the drop-off in participation for those in the 16+ age group, the project specifically targeted girls aged 14 – 16 years and provided them with a programme of activity tailored to their needs.

The coaches delivered activities with a focus on sustaining participation rather than performance which tends to put off the target group. The aim is to create an environment which is not only customer focused but also seeks to enhance the self esteem of the participants.

Health and well-being

Many of the girls took part in Active Angels to control their weight and to feel good about themselves. This improved self image has helped the girls function better in other parts of their lives.

The project used several methods of communicating with participants:

Presentations in schools by the Activity Coordinator
Posters in schools
Reminder postcards to participants
Ambassadors – participants promoting the project within their school
Activate an Angel – bring a friend scheme
PE staff were encouraged to refer girls who they thought would benefit from the project

Reversioning sport

The emphasis of Active Angels was on delivering activity in a fun and relaxed environment. The coaches understood this ethos and tailored their sessions accordingly. After each session there was an opportunity for the girls to socialise in the sports centre. The Project Coordinator also organised off-site trips (e.g. ice skating at an outdoor rink at Christmas) and delivered healthy eating workshops where the girls had the opportunity to socialise with girls from different schools.

Promotion and marketing

The Active Angels project used several methods to communicate with participants:

Presentations in schools by the Activity Coordinator
Posters in schools
Reminder postcards to participants
Ambassadors – we used participants to promote the project within their school
Activate an Angel – bring a friend scheme
PE staff were encouraged to refer girls who they thought would benefit from the project

Key links:

London Playing Fields Foundation - Active Angels

Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation - Mental health

Improving Women's Health

Creating a nation of active women: A framework for change

Sweat in the City: How 2000 young women discovered the positive power of exercise

London Playing Fields Foundation - Active Angels