ABSTRACT
Recent social, environmental and technological changes, such as accessibility of high-calorie foods, computer games and transport, have contributed to increased sedentary behaviours in young people (Fairclough et al. 2002, cited in Dagkas and Stathi 2007: 369). Research supports the view that involvement in physical activity contributes to numerous health benefits (such as prevention of obesity, type II diabetes and cardiovascular diseases) and the well-being of people (Duncan et al. 2004; Hardman and Stensel 2003). The health benefits of physical activity are well established, with regular participation in physical activity associated with better and longer quality of life. Hardman and Stensel (2003: 14) define physical activity as ‘any bodily movement produced by contraction of skeletal muscle that substantially increases energy expenditure’. Physical activity is a comprehensive concept. It encompasses many other terms related to physical exertion, such as work, sports, exercise, recreation, play, training, workouts, physical education, athletics and gymnastics (Astrand et al. 2003). Descriptive and experimental studies have suggested that regular physical exercise may be associated with reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety, and have consistently found that more active individuals report lower depression scores than more sedentary individuals (Faulkner and Taylor 2005). Depression is associated with increased risk of physical and functional decline, cognitive impairment, institutionalisation, frailty, life-threatening malnutrition and weight loss, psychological distress, low self-esteem, negative interpretation of everyday perceptions and non-adherence to pharmacotherapy for chronic disease (Faulkner and Taylor 2005). According to Taylor and Faulkner (2005), there is tentative support for the view that participating in exerice and physical activity is associated with alleviation of negative symptoms connected with depression and low self-esteem. Hardman and Stensel (2003) document that physical inactivity has been linked to the increase in obesity levels amongst children and adults in Western societies. Technological changes are attributed to changes in behavioural patterns that are linked with increased levels of obesity. Cardiovascular disease accounts for almost one-third of global deaths, with incidents rising, too, in developing countries (Hardman and Stensel 2003). However, according to Boreham and Riddoch (2003) the research evidence for the life-long benefits of physical activity for health is weak, and no studies have adequately recorded birth-to-death information relating physical activity to health. Longitudinal research of this kind is challenging and expensive, but given the importance of the topic, this is a notable gap in the research. Several national and international organisations have supported the promotion of physical activity as an important health behaviour in policy documents (Biddle and Mutrie 2008) and government policies in the UK have targeted specific groups identified as ‘sedentary’. In multi-cultural societies in the West, ethnic minority groups and women head national tables on all-cause mortality and poor health. All-cause mortality
is especially high amongst men of ethnic minority groups, and poor health and high morbidity and mortality rates have been identified among Muslim women of Bangladeshi and Pakistani descent in the UK. Inactivity and certain lifestyle choices are seen by epidemiologists (see Sallis and Owen 1999) as reasons for poor health among ethnic minority groups. The importance of learning to be active from an early age has also been documented. Many young ethnic-minority girls have been identified as sedentary in their everyday life. This is particularly true of Muslim girls, and is related to barriers that restrict their participation in physical activity. Research (see Benn 2002; Benn et al. 2010; Dagkas and Benn 2006) indicates that participation rates of young UK Muslim women in physical activity settings in and out of school are rising, but are still relatively low. Despite global advocacy for the importance of physical education and physical activity, Muslim girls and women have fewer opportunities to participate compared with their male counterparts. Since the early 1990s, research has identified areas of tension between cultural practices of Islam and physical education in schools in Western contexts (Carroll and Hollinshead 1993). The voices of Muslim girls and women of diverse ethnicities remain relatively silent – or, perhaps more accurately, the impact of Muslim voices remains undetectable despite efforts from recent research to produce evidence of ‘lived experiences’ of Muslim girls (see Benn et al. 2010; Dagkas et al. 2010; Macdonald et al. 2009). It is imperative to explore the barriers to participation in physical activity settings and reaffirm the values of physical activity in the lives of young Muslim women.
