Girls play more sports, but are less active

More girls are participating in organized sports at all levels, but they're less physically active overall. And girls are more likely to drop out of sports than boys.

That's according to a study released today by the University of Minnesota's Tucker Center. The study is a followup of a report from 10 years ago which highlighted the benefits for girls from physical activity.

Nicole LaVoi is with the Tucker Center, and an author of the report. She says outdated stereotypes sometimes influence whether girls participate in sports.

LaVoi says girls are also sometimes encouraged to focus on how their bodies look, rather than how active they are.

"Our report really tries to focus on what girls do and how do we work together as stakeholders, communities, families, schools, teachers, educators, to get girls physically active," said LaVoi.

She says regular physical activity can improve girls' heath, and can help improve their social, psychological and motor skills.

The report also says athletic girls perform better academically and have lower dropout rates than their non-athletic counterparts.

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