Girls’ physical activity rates are in crisis. Inside the new WA program which is seeing real change

The four teenagers answer at the same time when asked their thoughts on why many girls their age baulk at the idea of physical activity. “Social media,” say two, as their schoolmates say: “Devices.” They don’t stop there. The words — considered, illuminating, smart observations — come tumbling out. Body image plays a huge part too, they explain, in the widespread reluctance among teenage girls to take part in exercise. The onset of puberty coupled with an intense fear of judgment from peers leads to dread around putting on the school phys-ed uniform and joining in running, kicking or jumping, all inevitably competitive. Then there’s the academic pressure. The ballet, netball or swimming that they so loved in primary school is, in high school, suddenly perceived as a luxury of time they cannot afford. As 15-year-old Mt Lawley Senior High School student Elizabeth Widderick puts it: “You’re told sport’s not going to help you for your future but studying for this maths test will. “There’s lots of priority on academics and study, that comes before everything, so you neglect your health or things you enjoy, like sport or chatting with friends.” When you consider all of this, the odds seem heavily stacked against young girls when it comes to exercise. But just how these odds are playing out in real life is startling. It is, to put it plainly, at crisis point. In March the World Health Organisation released a comprehensive review into physical activity among girls between 10 and 19 and found “urgent action” was needed to protect the welfare of the current generation while safeguarding their long term health. The report found that globally, 85 per cent of girls do not meet the WHO recommendations of at least 60 minutes per day of moderate to vigorous physical activity, and participation declined throughout adolescence. And in Australia, with our abundant sunshine, wide open spaces and athletic, coastal lifestyle, the data is even more alarming. Nearly 90 per cent of Australian girls aged 11 to 14 do not meet the minimum activity guidelines for health and wellbeing, a longitudinal study of 10,000 young people and their families found. The problem is well established. But despite the multitude of reports and numerous programs to try and create a solution, little headway has been made. But how many of those programs, which tend to exist in an exercise-equals-sport paradigm, actually asked the girls themselves why they aren’t active, and what would help them to get moving? A pilot program in WA has done just that, but gone one step further, in enlisting the girls to create a solution. That solution relies on the very thing that is partly responsible for the crisis: their phones. Talk N Walk is an app created by Nature Play WA, thanks to Telethon funding and Healthway grants, with the help of 60 girls between 11 and 14 across three schools; Mt Lawley Senior High School, St Hilda’s Anglican School for Girls and Central Midlands Senior High School in Moora. The app supports girls to replace sedentary catch-ups with “talk n walks — whether they be in the park, to and from school, in their neighbourhoods or a local shopping centre. There is no competitive element — except crucially the ability for individuals to track their progress and earn “stickers” — and the app leverages girls’ desire, and developmental need, to communicate with friends, resulting in positive physical and mental health benefits. As Talk N Walk project manager Kellie Hill explains, the program supports the girls to build a foundation for a healthy lifestyle without the requirement to take part in competitive or performative exercise, which many girls describe as off-putting. “With girls, it’s a challenging time for changes to their body, and body image, increasing self-awareness and fear of failure, changing social needs and increasing responsibilities and other stresses,” she explains. “(Talk N Walk) is about finding an option that suits the stage of life they are in and acknowledging that sport isn’t for everyone, but physical activity has to be for everyone.” The more than 20 girls who spoke to STM expressed delight in being asked to contribute to meaningful discussion in this space. Mt Lawley SHS students and friends Aanishka Sen and Sofia Strano, both 15, regularly go for walks together. Aanishka hates phys. ed. She describes herself as more of an academic person. For Sofia, sport — netball and swimming in particular — has been a big part of her life; the problem is finding the time in high school. “I was really into (the Talk N Walk) idea, it boosts an idea that most of us love, because of course we’re good at talking — we love to gossip — and then it adds exercise to it,” Sofia says. “You don’t think ‘oh I have to go for a run’, it’s like ‘I can go for a walk and talk to my friend’, so it gives you more of a push to do it.” Aanishka adds: “As a person who doesn’t like to be too active, I like to walk and talk, we walk kilometres upon kilometres, it’s a great way to get physical activity when you don’t like physical activity. “And being involved with the app felt like I was important, and for my opinions to be heard and to make an impact towards something positive felt really good.” Expectations — their own, and from those around them—- to do well in school and prioritise studying above all else was a common thread as the girls gathered to share their thoughts with STM. And most admitted that taking a break from studying was far more likely to involve scrolling through social media as opposed to pulling on their sneakers. As most adults can attest to, the intention of a five-minute break to check TikTok or Instagram leads to an hour disappearing down a rabbit hole they simply never saw coming. The girls are all too aware just how addictive their phones are, and just as concerned about it as their parents. But they point out, if adults can’t even temper their use, how and why should they be expected to? As 15-year-old Mt Lawley student Belis Demir says: “I feel like we’re kind of the tester generation, growing up around all of this technology, and we’ve only recently discovered the effects of blue light for example. “There are probably so many other disadvantages of mobile phones on our health that we haven’t discovered yet.” The girls had differing strategies to address the problem; some gave their phones to their parents at night to avoid distractions, others turned them on to airplane mood. Central Midlands’ Madison Wilkin, who along with Jimmaya Coffin and Haylee Albright-Watson took part in the creation of the app, said their rural location gave them a slightly different take on the problem. “I have a phone but I’m not really on it as I’m never inside enough to be on my phone,” the 14-year-old says. “I’m usually outside playing netball, or games. Being in the country is a good opportunity to have all the fresh air and free rein.” Some of the most prescient observations came from the Year 7 students, who were on the cusp of, or dipping their toes into, the world of social media and mobile phones. “The idea for Talk N Walk is great,” St Hilda’s student Lara Davies says. “Because most teenage girls stay inside, are on their phones in their bedrooms, and are not spending the day going out and socialising and seeing people . . . they’re staying inside and comparing themselves to people on social media. “So it’s a great way to get girls outside, and it releases endorphins, which makes you a happier person, so this app can actually really help a lot of girls’ wellbeing. “The things on my mind are studying really hard, and I feel all this pressure, so whenever I go for a walk it clears my mind.” Fellow St Hilda’s Year 7 student Molly Phillips, 12, doesn’t have social media or a phone, but is aware of just how powerful they can be — for good, as well as evil. “I’m really excited to be part of this. Because it’s an app, teenagers will want to use it,” she says. She compared it to last year’s Belong exhibition at Boola Bardip; an immersive multimedia exhibit which showcased Indigenous culture in a modern way, and which appealed to young people. “That’s how our everyday lives work, especially with COVID and online learning, so an app will just make teenagers and younger girls excited to do physical activity.” She also points out that it’s not just physical wellbeing that needs the spotlight on it. “Girls are having mental health issues, and the levels of mental health issues have gone up. Going for a walk with a friend, there’s no pressure. Because when you put pressure on someone, they break, especially teenage girls. They’re not fully developed, they don’t understand the world, they don’t understand that there is going to be pressure in life,” she says. “We have very busy lives, school, co-curricular, family things, homework, so it’s good to use the app to lock in times to go for a walk, because we never have time. There’s so much to do and so little time.” All of these issues described by the girls create a “wicked problem” that is not easily solved, Nature Play’s strategic communications and campaigns manager Katherine Healy says. “It’s a time of changing bodies, so much pressure, social media . . . When I was growing up it was just Dolly magazine and it wasn’t in your face 24/7 the way it is now with Instagram,” she says. “There is such huge pressure on girls to conform and look a certain way, and I think they see if they’re not good at something, or they don’t excel at it, they just don’t do it at all. “There’s less of an understanding of physical activity for enjoyment’s sake. Even when doing yoga — the social media display of that is perfection, so it’s hard for girls to say I want to do something because I enjoy it.” When taking on this challenge, in response to requests for innovation grants from Healthway, the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries and Telethon, Nature Play quickly realised they had to step into the girls’ world in order to create something meaningful. “It’s no good saying ‘just put the phone away’, it’s part and parcel of who they are. They’re digital natives and they don’t differentiate the online world from the real world in the way that older generations do,” Healy says. “So we thought to teach them we need to be where they are, on the same wavelength and the same platform.” That approach appears to have won over the young, enthusiastic app creators, who all feel an immense sense of pride that they have contributed to something that is now available to teens all over WA. “I really wanted to be involved as I thought it was good to see that older people, and organisations, realised this was happening,” Belis says. “It really opened my eyes as to why I stopped doing sport in the first place. I really want to make sure I start prioritising my health, and not only my studies.” Talk N Walk version one is available to be downloaded for iphone and androids. https://www.natureplaywa.org.au/talk-n-walk/

Girls’ physical activity rates are in crisis. Inside the new WA program which is seeing real change

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