With increased interest, opportunity and participation in female sports, we are beginning to see those same psychological, physiological and sociological benefits for girls and women. Girls and women who participate in sports have a more positive body image and experience higher states of psychological well-being than girls and women who do not play sports. Teenage female athletes are more likely than female non-athletes to report that they had never had sexual intercourse later in adolescence. Women who, as girls, were active in sports and recreational activities feel greater confidence in their physical and social selves than those who were sedentary as kids. High school girls who participate in sports are more likely to do well in science.
Sports help girls develop leadership skills.
Regular physical activity in adolescence can reduce girls' risk for obesity. Physical activity appears to decrease the initiation of cigarette smoking in adolescent girls. Women who exercise weigh less, have lower levels of blood sugar, cholesterol and triglycerides, as well as lower blood pressure, than do non-exercising women. Women who exercise report being happier, having more energy and feeling they are in excellent health more often than non-exercising women. They also miss fewer days of work.