'This Girl Can' campaign encouraged thousands more women into sport
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The number of women and girls who exercise once a week has risen dramatically in the past year, new statistics reveal.
The figures, published by Sport England, show that the number of women playing sport regularly jumped by 261,200 to 7.12 million between 2015 and 2016.
The ‘Active People Survey' found that more men and women over the age of 16 are taking part in physical activity overall (up 343,100) - but around 75 per cent of this increase was due solely to the improved participation of women.
The gender gap in sport was highlighted in January 2015, when Sport England launched ‘This Girl Can'. The Government-funded campaign was widely praised for its honest adverts, aimed at women of all shapes and sizes.
It was launched after research found that two million fewer women regularly participated in sport than men - despite 75 per cent of women saying they'd like to do more. Fear of judgement was one of the major reasons cited.
According to research, 2.8 million women and girls, aged 14 to 40, have done more activity as a result of This Girl Can, while 1.6m said they'd started exercising regularly.
According to the newly published survey, which is the largest of its kind in Europe and polled 165,000 adults in England, found that the fastest growing activities for women in the last 12 months included boxing and running.
Other popular choices were swimming, cycling, gym sessions, fitness classes, netball, football and tennis.
Jennie Price, Sport England chief executive, said: "These figures are really encouraging and show that This Girl Can is helping women and girls to manage their fear of judgement when it comes to getting active.
"When we launched This Girl Can, we set out to address the real barriers that were putting so many women off sport and physical activity. It's clearly working.
"One of the most striking points here is how usual trends are being turned on their heads. When more people play sport, it's typically men who are driving the numbers. But women are now leading the way.
"Over 75 per cent of the growth in the last year has come from women, and in particular women over 40. This shows that when you put consumers at the heart of what you're doing, you can achieve success on a national scale."