Partners

The Santesih laboratory is a partner ofthe Bistrot des Ethnologuesin Montpellier, managed by the A.R.C.E. association (Workshop for Encounters and Comparative Research in Ethnology).

Ethnologists' Bistro Program

Partnershipwith the University Center for Circus Arts Education and Researchat Paul Valéry Montpellier 3 University, the only one of its kind in Europe.

Circus Sciences Journal PULM

Launch of the Collaborative Research Institute on Physical Activity and Health Promotion (ReCAPPS)

June 11 in Lyon

Promoting health through physical activity: going beyond medical prescriptions

The ReCAPPS Institute brings together researchers in the humanities and social sciences whose work focuses on issues related to the design, implementation, and use of health promotion programs through physical activity and sport. This institute promotes collaborative approaches involving civil society actors and users, in line with the perspective of health promotion as defined in the Ottawa Charter (1986). It has a particular interest in social inequalities and health environments.

The benefits of physical activity in preventing disease and promoting psychosocial balance are now well known. The biomedical literature is prolific in demonstrating its role in the treatment of chronic diseases (severe obesity, diabetes, asthma, cardiovascular problems, etc.) and cancers (breast, prostate, etc.). Many mental health problems can also be alleviated through physical activity and/or sports. The recent INSERM collective expert report on physical activity, prevention, and treatment of chronic diseases, published in February 2019, is eloquent on this subject. It remains to be specified the forms and conditions of practice, in particular the support, frequency, duration, and intensity of physical activity for each individual profile (
) with a view to prevention or care.

At first glance, this scientific context seems to reinforce political choices that prioritize the medical prescription of physical activity (Article 144 of Law No. 2016-41). Decree No. 2016-1990 of December 30, 2016, relating to the conditions for dispensing adapted physical activity prescribed by the attending physician to patients with a long-term condition, attempts to specify the conditions for implementation. However, implementation is proving difficult, particularly due to the variety of professionals who may supervise these adapted practices. Overwhelmed with public health tasks, general practitioners are struggling to prescribe physical activity. A paradox also seems to be emerging: the "target" populations, which are most often socially disadvantaged, remain the furthest removed from physical and sporting activities. Does this medicalized approach to the problem risk reinforcing social and regional health inequalities?

The medicalization of health through physical activity is finally showing its limitations. It therefore seems urgent to analyze this public action "in progress" from a multidisciplinary perspective, giving pride of place to the humanities and social sciences. In this field, although scientific work is already well advanced, it is struggling to be taken into account by public authorities. Shouldn't the evidence of a territorialized governance of bodies now lead decision-makers to question the individualization of the approach? We know how much the empowerment of individuals leads to the guilt-tripping of certain social groups and the stigmatization of their practices and lifestyles, with counterproductive effects in the long term. The conditions most conducive to regular and empowering physical activity can also be easily identified. With this in mind, research in the humanities and social sciences is able to identify the most relevant socio-ecosystems. The professional approach, for its part, questions the most appropriate ways of supervising practices according to the target audience and context: it makes it possible to go beyond corporate issues to identify essential skill sets in order to certify an appropriate and safe approach. The study of how the proposed measures are used sheds light on the multiple ways in which public health messages are appropriated, or even distanced, by the various actors concerned: physical activity professionals often remain powerless in the face of resistance, avoidance, or deliberate non-use.

Here, as elsewhere, the success of actions and measures cannot be achieved without a broad, interdisciplinary approach, drawing on the humanities and social sciences, which favors collaborative perspectives: as part of a paradigm of health promotion and education, the aim is to increase interventional research by bringing together the academic, associative, and political worlds, and giving a prominent place to users and businesses. This reflective and collaborative approach is essential to ensure the mobilization of all populations, particularly those who are most distant and reluctant to engage in physical activity. It is a prerequisite for the cultural development of active lifestyles, physical and sports activities for all, and the widespread use of soft and environmentally friendly mobility. It is now time to set this virtuous cycle in motion with a view to lifelong learning, integrating and moving beyond a vision of public action based solely on medical prescription. The latter seems far too restrictive and detached from social realities to achieve the ambitious goals set for the promotion of physical activity for overall health, or more simply for everyday well-being.

Gilles VIEILLE MARCHISET, University of Strasbourg
Claire PERRIN, University of Lyon 1
Clément PERRIER, University of Grenoble-Alpes
Sylvain FEREZ, University of Montpellier
Jean Paul GENOLINI and Jean-Charles BASSON, University of Toulouse 3
Yan DALLA PRIA, University of Paris-Nanterre
Isabelle CABY, University of Artois
Coralie LESSARD, Catholic University of the West
And the researchers at the RecAPPS* Institute

* This association (Collaborative Research Institute on Physical Activity and Health Promotion) will be launched on June 11, 2019, at the Maison des sciences de l’homme in Lyon: a round table discussion will take place between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m., addressing issues of public action, supportive environments, and skills in the field of health promotion through physical activity.

Press release

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