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This publication from the Women's Sports Foundation in America focusses on the value of sport and physical activity of young American women (Girls). With over 60 pages of references it is a gift for students developing dissertations in sport and physical activity - particularly with a female focus;
"This report is a comprehensive compendium of research that points to physical activity and sport as fundamental solutions for many of the serious health and social problems faced by American girls.
An appreciable mass of evidence-based knowledge about girls' involvement with sport and physical activity has been generated during the last decade. The amount and quality of this research are uneven and varied. For example, a good deal of research examines the associations between physical activity and risk for coronary heart disease, but studies that focus on risk for Alzheimer's disease are just beginning to issue. Researchers have verified links between high school athletic participation and teen pregnancy prevention, although more longitudinal research is needed to thoroughly confirm the connections. Overall, however, this report shows that the current state of knowledge on the relationship of physical activity to the health and social needs of American girls warrants the serious attention of public health officials, educators and sport leaders.
The bulk of research findings cited in this report show that physical activity and sport can enhance the health and well-being of American girls and young women, and at a time when public health experts estimate that obesity and sedentary lifestyles are responsible for 400,000 deaths per year in the United States. Inactivity and obesity in the current generation of girls will yield a substantial burden of disease for women in the future. The preventive health message is clear: girls and young women deserve and need full access to opportunities for participation in physical activity and sport."
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