Effects Of Breast Development In Teens: Most Girls Quit Sports After Hitting Puberty, Study Finds

Most boys engage more in sports after they hit puberty. However, a new study finds that most girls do the opposite when they hit puberty. The research involved asking more than 2,000 girls if puberty hinders them from engaging in sports.

"The study concluded that puberty -- particularly breast development -- is a leading factor in why only 12 percent of the country's teenage girls reach physical activity guidelines," Opposing Views reported. As it turns out, the reason behind the phenomenon is due to growing insecurities during adolescence.

Many teenage girls feel more self-conscious about their body after hitting puberty. Some feel like their breasts developed too early, while others feel like they are developing more slowly than other girls.

Puberty hit them like a Sledgehammer
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— Shady Facts 5H (@ShadyFacts5H) May 4, 2016

"We make assumptions about what we think we know, so it's important to be able to say that as cup size increases, physical activity decreases for a lot of girls," Dr. Sharonda Alston Taylor told the New York Times. The study results show that 73 percent of teenage girls have issues related to playing sports due to breast development during puberty.

Almost 40 percent of the study participants also said that they stopped playing sports due to breast development. Another 34 percent said that they do not like changing clothes in locker rooms because the other girls can see their body changes.

"It's hard to be in the zone, focusing on athletic movement, on what your body can do, if you're thinking about what others think your body looks like," Loyola University Chicago psychology doctoral candidate Kimberly Burdette told the New York Times. However, this isn't easy for a teenage girl to overcome.

Parents could help their daughter feel more comfortable in their own skin. Parents can help their teenage girls overcome self-consciousness about their body changes during puberty by reinforcing to them that bodies come in all shapes and sizes and to stop comparing themselves to others, Raising Children shared.