Sport, physical activity, and health

Abstract

Studies from around the world point to inadequate participation in physical activity and sport, with direct consequences on population health as evidenced by the ‘growing obesity epidemic’ and the advent of ‘lifestyle diseases’. Governments are spending unprecedented amounts of money in an attempt to increase participation in physical activities. Therefore, no longer is public participation in physical activity and sports viewed as a matter of pleasurable, voluntary leisure time pursuit; rather, such activity has become an obligation with not only health but also moral implications. This shift and meaning of participation in physical activity and sports in our social milieu is worthy of examination.