ABSTRACT
The health benefits of physical activity have been extolled in many societies over many centuries. It was not until the second half of the twentieth century, however, that scientific evidence supporting such beliefs began to grow. Morris and colleagues’ classic study examined the incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) among postal workers delivering mail on foot or bicycle compared to that of their less physically active colleagues working in the sorting rooms (Morris et al., 1953a; 1953b) led to a raft of publications documenting the benefits of physical activity and the problems associated with physical inactivity. Nowadays, there are numerous scientific studies demonstrating the impact that physical exercise has on reducing the risk of non-communicable or lifestyle diseases (Barengo et al., 2006; Conroy et al., 2005; Dugdill et al., 2005; Hardman and Stensel, 2009; Haskell et al., 2007; Lee et al., 2003; Paffenbarger, 2000; Schnor et al., 2006; Sui et al., 2007; Vuori, 2001). Indeed, there is now considerable consensus among physiologists and epidemiologists that physical activity does have beneficial consequences for both physical and mental health even though there is some dispute over the intensity and frequency of physical activity required to generate substantial health benefits. Set in this context, the objective of this chapter is to outline the scale and nature of the
problems associated with overweight and obesity and physical inactivity globally, before assessing the policy responses to this perceived problem. Initially, we will examine the development of policy across the world before providing an in-depth case study of the way in which policies towards health in general, and physical activity and sport in particular, have developed in the UK. In doing so, it will become evident that there has been something of a blurring of what is deemed to constitute sport and physical activity, and that perhaps the general policy response has been couched in terms of an agenda characterized by moral panic over obesity levels. That is to say, although there are strong
epidemiological data regarding obesity levels to show the social and economic problems associated with overweight and obesity, to some extent policy-makers and the media, especially, frequently overreact and sensationalize scientific evidence cited in support of the levels of overweight and obesity and their impact. Furthermore, a characteristic of policy developments in many countries has been to see physical activity and sport as some kind of ‘quick fix’ for the problems said to be caused by overweight and obesity. Consequently, many policies have tended to contain short-term goals. Even where they have set longer, arguably more realistic targets, these are frequently replaced by other policies that all but ignore the targets established previously. In addition, it is noteworthy that the health costs of sports injuries are frequently ignored by policy-makers and sports promoters alike. We conclude the chapter by focusing on the socio-economic and environmental issues related to health that have often been examined in a rather vague manner by policymakers hitherto, but are arguably at the heart of developing a more reality-congruent understanding of health and health inequalities. In doing so, we will also examine the supposed role of physical activity and sport within these policies, and the impact that this has had on SDOs and others promoting sport.
