Exercise is...?:A commentary response

Jennifer Roertson-Wilson,Michelle Fortier

aDepartment of Kinesiology and Physical Education,Wilfrid Laurier University,Waterloo,ON N2L 3C5,Canada

bSchool of Human Kinetics,University of Ottawa,Ottawa,ON K1N 6N5,Canada

Commentary

Exercise is...?:A commentary response

Jennifer Robertson-Wilsona,*,Michelle Fortierb

aDepartment of Kinesiology and Physical Education,Wilfrid Laurier University,Waterloo,ON N2L 3C5,Canada

bSchool of Human Kinetics,University of Ottawa,Ottawa,ON K1N 6N5,Canada

In the recent issue ofJournal of Sport Health and Science, the question of“Is exercise medicine or what?”was posed.We wish to follow the editors’suggestion to“...stimulate further discussion on the topic”1by offering additional points of consideration to those discussed by Nesti2in“Exercise for health: Serious fun for the whole person?”.We will specificaly debate Nesti’s2position touting the potential role of sport as an alternative to“Exercise is Medicine”(EIM)by providing a selected critique of sport.

Physical inactivity continues to be an ongoing challenge in many countries.Nesti2correctly pointed out the limitations in our efforts(to date)to increase engagement in physical activity. After arguing that many individuals experience exercise as“uncomfortable”,Nesti2raised the potential of sport(by considering aspects of motivation,play,and fl w)as the means by which to encourage greater physical activity participation.But is sport the answer to rectify physical inactivity?We would suggest further discussion and some caution is needed before positioning sport in this way.

First,as part of the argument for sport,Nesti2offered that the features of sport have“...made it by far the most practiced form of physical activity and exercise across the world”using as evidence a study of over 500 U.S.children and adolescents where physical activity and sport trajectories were linked.3Yet this seems insufficien and further examination of sport participation levels is warranted.For example,a report highlighted that for Canadians over the age of 15,only one quarter reported sport participation(considered to be“at least once a week during the season or for a certain period of the year”)with higher participation rates observed in certain sub-populations such as men,those of higher economic status,and younger participants.4The report also found that over the past 2 decades sport participation rates had fallen and that engagement in sport was the third most common active leisure activity reported“on a given day”for 2010 data behind walking/jogging and exercise respectively.4Indeed,non-sport activities(e.g.,walking)are often among the several top forms of activity reported by adolescents and adults(e.g.,Refs.5,6).While sport participation may be higher in other countries,other trends(e.g.,greater participation by males)appear to be more consistent.7If sport is to then be viewed with renewed interest as Nesti2suggested,we must not fail to consider which individual-sport(just like exercise)has traditionallyfailedto cater to and draw in to a physically active lifestyle and how best to change this.We must consider the possibility of play and fl w through sport2against an absence of interest(one of many reported reasons for not engaging in sport4).Perhaps this is where Nesti’s2idea that there is a“...need to look more closely at the value of sport to the community,and its role in creating and sustaining identity”deserves greater explanation.

Second,while Nesti2briefl acknowledged negative outcomes of sport involvement such as“...injuries,burnout,and over-competitiveness”,the discussion ofnegative outcomes was minimized.A recent review by Bean and colleagues8underscored the differentadverse outcomesoforganized sportparticipation not only for the young athlete,but also for the family members.Further,many youth experience sport in physical education.The concerns with sport in physical education were well articulated by Ennis9with several research examples demonstrating how sport focus and associated methods around instruction have in some cases undermined engagementin activity(e.g.,Refs.10,11).These(as well as challenges to adult participation in sport)mustbe adequately considered ifsportisto serve as a setting for physical activity for more individuals as advocated by Nesti2and others.7Otherwise,sport will merely stand alongside the problem of“...the potential negatives associated with exercise”that Nesti2identifie as a key issue in EIM.

Given the challenges associated with sport participation,it is perhaps more prudent to consider sport as apieceof the physical inactivity puzzle.Kahn and colleagues7highlighted that sport is one of several recommended approaches to increasing physical activity.12The potential for sport is also echoed in the finding from Kwon and colleagues3as they concluded that“although consistent sports participation is insufficien to maintain healthy moderate-to-vigorous physical activity behavior, joining organized youth sports(despite eventually dropping out)could be important to avoid a consistently inactive lifestyle”.Sport(as well as running)participation across adolescence has also been found to predict activity levels in early adulthood.13These studies notwithstanding,there is also a need for additional evidence to support sport-based interventions. For example,greater inquiry is needed for the effectiveness of sport specifi interventions(across the lifespan)to raise physical activity levels as in 1 case Priest et al.14specificaly found“...an absence of high quality evidence to support interventions designed and delivered by sporting organizations to increase participation in sport”.

In sum,if inactivity trends are to be remedied and physical activity,including exercise or sport,7is to be anything and taken up by a greater percentage of the population,it will take efforts to work across disciplines,settings,and types of activities,7something we see in Smith’s concept of“exercise is recreation”.15Thisisconsistentwith ecologicalmodelsofhealth (and exercise)promotion.16MacAuley and colleagues17rightly pointed out the need to consider broader social,environmental, and political drivers of activity levels in order to see greater successin increasing physicalactivity through EIMand/orsport. Does(as Nesti2proposed)sporthave a role to play—Yes.Butnot before being subjected to the same type ofcriticalreflectio that was applied to exercise(as medicine).

Authors’contributions

JRW conceived of and drafted the initial version of this commentary;MF signif cantly edited the paper and provided additional content information.Both authors have read and approved the fina version of the manuscript,and agree with the order of presentation of the authors.

Competing interests

Neither of the authors declare competing financia interests.

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Received 19 May 2016;revised 12 June 2016;accepted 13 June 2016 Available online 24 June 2016

Peer review under responsibility of Shanghai University of Sport.

*Correspondence author.

E-mail address:jrobertsonwilson@wlu.ca(J.Robertson-Wilson).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jshs.2016.06.006

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