Girls in sports drop out at higher rates than boys, and a number of challenges lead to that problem, says Kathryn Ackerman, a physician and director of the Female Athlete Program in the sports medicine division of Boston Children\u2019s Hospital. She\u2019s also an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Girls in sports experience societal pressure to be feminine, to avoid acting \u201cbossy\u201d and to have certain body types, among other pressures, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Girls also experience higher rates of concussions and ACL tears than boys. And they often struggle with a condition called “relative energy deficiency” because they don’t eat enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n