On September 5th of 2002, a study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, on the physical activity of teenage girls. The study consisted of 1,200 black girls, and 1,170 white girls who were enrolled in the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study. .
A doctor from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and colleagues followed the girls for 10 years, from their childhood to their late teens. While the girls were being followed, the doctors asked them what they did with their leisure time, and what kind of activity they were involved with several times throughout the study. .
According to study, the physical activity of girls while they are young, drops significantly. African American girls in particular, showed a risk of becoming sedentary. They reported getting less exercise at all ages, as apposed to Caucasian girls. While the girls were in school, their physical activity seemed to drop in both races, although the drop in activity was particulary steep among the black teenagers. This study showed that by the eighth year of study, while the girls were 16 and 17 years old, 56% of black girls, and 31% of white girls did not take part in any physical activity while they had free time. .
Did the study of teenage girls physical activity show any risks to health? Yes, they concluded that girls who weighed more at a young age did less physical activity while they were in school. The study also concluded that parental education was a part to blame for the girls physical activity. They said that daughters of parents with a high school education or less, were less likely to be physically active, compared to girls who had at least one parent who was college educated. Among the older girls, some of the decline in physical activity was linked to black teenage girls becoming pregnant, and cigarette smoking in white girls. Those are only a few factors though, they do not account for the majority of the decline in the physical activity of the girls.
