Abstract
Objective: Females continue to participate in sport at lower rates than males. Girls who participate in sport gain many advantages. Even with programs designed to emphasize participation, some females continue with sport participation while others do not. Given the advantages and controversies surrounding testosterone and female sport, it is possible that testosterone may predispose females toward sport participation. Our objective was to determine if the second to fourth digit (2D:4D) ratio, a proxy for prenatal androgen exposure, correlates with sport participation throughout female adolescence and young adulthood. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of indirect prenatal androgen exposure (i.e., 2D:4D) was completed on 18–30-year-old women ( n = 92) using demographics, anthropometrics, sport-specific behaviour tendencies, and retrospective sport participation. Results: 2D:4D was not significantly correlated with total sport participation (TSP) ( r = −0.065, p = 0.538). Secondary analyses revealed significant correlations between TSP and maximum hand grip ( r = 0.406, p = 0.000) and the Sport Orientation Questionnaire (SOQcomp ( r = 0.513475, p = 0.000), SOQgoal ( r = 0.253, p = 0.015), SOQwin ( r = 0.366, p = 0.000)). Conclusion: Although strength and competitiveness are strongly correlated with female sport participation, the impact of prenatal androgen exposure (i.e., 2D:4D) remains to be determined given its weak and negative association with female sport participation. Given that females participate in sport at lower rates than males, continuing to determine what factors influence sport participation is an important goal.
Highlights
Published: September 9, 2019Published by: Canadian Science PublishingLifetime sport and physical activity participation provide many physiological and sociological benefits; understanding this behaviour is important to the health and well-being of women and girls
While there is a general decline in physical activity and sport participation starting in the early teens, the largest drop in participation rates occur between the mid to late teens for females
One participant indicated that she had not participated in sport in any year in the retrospective timeline
Summary
Published: September 9, 2019Lifetime sport and physical activity participation provide many physiological and sociological benefits; understanding this behaviour is important to the health and well-being of women and girls. There is a discrepancy between leisure time physical activity (LTPA) and sport participation rates of males and females worldwide. North Americans do not meet the guidelines of daily recommended activity in both sexes, but males are more likely to participate in LTPA, including sport participation, than females (Stephens et al 1985). While there is a general decline in physical activity and sport participation starting in the early teens, the largest drop in participation rates occur between the mid to late teens for females. Youth sport participation in Canada (both male and female) has been fairly consistent over the past decade with approximately 75% (81% of boys versus 70% girls) of youth aged 5–17 years participating in sport at some point (Canadian Heritage 2013), a sex difference that is even greater in other parts of the world
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