National Women’s Health And Fitness Day – September 25, 2024

History of National Women’s Health And Fitness Day

National Women’s Health and Fitness Day is celebrated every year, courtesy of the Health Information Resource Center, a national clearinghouse for consumer health information professionals. The day was established in 2002 to promote physical fitness and health awareness among women of all ages.

The history of women’s health and fitness has been plagued by conjectures and superstition. Areas such as childbirth and physical fitness have been considered taboo in certain societies for centuries. In the past, certain practices that had been accepted as the norm were actually detrimental to women’s health. For instance, between the 1500s and the early 1900s, corsets were a vital part of women’s fashion in Europe and America. However, corsets have been known to cause the weakening of pectoral muscles and, in extreme circumstances, fainting.

Fortunately, due to modern developments, women’s health has come a long way. There has been widespread awareness and enlightenment, dispelling old wives’ tales and myths of the past. Because of the false belief that certain physical exercises, such as weightlifting, would cause women to develop ‘masculine’ muscles, physical fitness wasn’t encouraged among women. Thankfully, this sentiment witnessed a shift.

In the 1930s, women were encouraged to work out at home because sweating in public was considered unseemly. However, a decade later, women took to the gyms. You’ll never believe what female gyms were called — reducing salons! They were so-called because, at the time, it was more important to lose weight than to keep fit.

Thanks to movements such as the body positivity movement and the women’s health movement, which began in the 1800s, the world of women’s health and fitness has taken giant strides towards becoming more accurate and inclusive.