Teenage girls notoriously dislike gym class and exercise. However, a new study shows that they are more likely to be physically active if they come from a close family that supports their need to exercise.

Researchers studied over two hundred high school girls from Baltimore, MD. Eighty-three percent were African American, a group at higher risk for overweight and obesity than the general population. Family intimacy, sharing and support were important predictors of whether the girls were physically active.

The researchers expected neighborhood violence and crime to affect the girls' levels of activity, but that was not the case.

The National Institute of Health funded this study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, January 2007.