Statistics reveal that 81% of women, that’s four out of every five, do not do enough physical activity to benefit their health. There are many factors working against women, the main one being perceived body image, with 26% revealing that they ‘hate’ the way that they look when they exercise or play sport. With obesity rates rising and women facing issues such as negative body image and increased time constraints, the fear is that the overall level of exercise participation could decrease as much as 5.5% by 2017, drastically affecting health and wellbeing.

So what barriers are there for women looking to get more involved in sport, and how can we overcome them?

Sport is often seen by some as being unfeminine, and girls’ earliest experiences of sport in school can be off-putting. 40% of girls feel self-conscious about their bodies in PE lessons, and over a quarter (26%) of women ‘hate’ the way that they look when they exercise or play sport.

A recent report has identified the key factors affecting women’s participation in exercise, including negative body image issues, time pressures from work constraints, and the general increase in obesity levels. It is feared that with these trends, the overall level of participation could decrease by 5.5% by 2017.