Reframing physical activity to recognize diverse meanings and realize fulfilling benefits

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Special post by Joe Piggin, Olivia Hawes, and Thiago Matias

In brief

The Nature Global Physical Activity for Health Collection is an important rupture from traditional ways of doing physical activity research. Recognising physical activity as socially and culturally embedded opens possibilities for collectivist, decolonial, and community-based ways of living. We endorse the call for socially just policies and culturally responsive approaches to meaningful physical activity.

Main text

As physical activity researchers and advocates, we read the articles in the Nature Global Physical Activity for Health Collection (March, 2026) with a mixture of professional enthusiasm and personal hope. It brings us particular joy to see a significant change in direction away from traditional, individual-oriented health promotion logic that has dominated for decades. Reframing physical activity beyond health-enhancement alone, and acknowledging its multiplicity of meaning and values is an important rupture of the status quo.

Also, unshackling physical activity promotion from its reliance on biomedical logic is an excellent development (1). The articles which call for intersectional systems approaches to addressing physical (in)activity seem essential for progress against this complex, wicked problem. As Salvo et al. remark: ‘interwoven social injustices and systems of oppression cannot be properly assessed or addressed through oversimplified, unidimensional approaches’ (1). The authors demonstrate the substantial inequalities in choice-based physical activity, and that physical activity is not solely an individual behaviour but is embedded within structural conditions that influence access, safety, time, and resources, aligning with recent, critically informed conceptualisations of physical activity and inactivity within a socio-cultural context (2-4).

This makes us wonder about naming the most dominant system that we, as physical activity researchers, scholars, and advocates, are wrestling with. It is hard to get away from the conclusion that the system, in many parts of the world, is capitalism (5-6). We are urged to open our minds and scholarship to perspectives that challenge the harms that come from capitalist understandings of health and physical activity.

Many concerns raised within the Collection are ultimately critiques of the capitalist system (even if capitalism is not mentioned by name). For example, the disparity in physical activity between women in poorer countries and men in rich countries is an intersectional critique related to wealth inequality, perpetuated by capitalism (1, 7). Climate change mitigation is largely a response to for-profit industries engaging in rampant extraction and exploitation of Earth’s limited resources (8). The workplace is identified as a conspicuous place related to activity, with rates being either too high or too low, both of which can harm health (9).

As a community, we should challenge the harmful externalities from capitalist endeavour which result in either overly sedentary work and overly exhausting work. A critical perspective furthermore demands recognition of intersecting social, economic, and racial injustices, and advocates for mitigation strategies that are not only ecologically effective but socially just, culturally sensitive, and accountable to those disproportionately affected.

It is heartening to read the call for collectivist, communal approaches that reject the atomisation of people into individual consumers, and instead emphasise community (8, 10). We wonder about what Indigenous and local knowledges and practices have been marginalised and silenced in favour of overwhelming, neo-liberal consumption practices which favour passive consumption of products and services to the detriment of local physical activity customs, sports and activities. We believe a collectivist approach is not only the way to improve traditional health outcomes, but also a way of resisting isolation, and increasing connection, mutual understanding and human fulfilment.

If we are to resist the worst effects of capitalist structures and systems on our ability to be physically active, we should reflect on the Audre Lorde’s quote: ‘The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house’ (11). We should resist any orthodox physical activity promotion practices that cannot sustain scrutiny. For example, for many years a global ultra-processed drinks company sponsored physical activity promotions all around the world, gaining positive associations as a result (12). High consumption of ultra-processed foods and drinks is consistently linked to chronic diseases and negative health outcomes (13). This underscores the contradiction of corporations promoting physical activity while simultaneously profiting from products that contribute to poor health, particularly in vulnerable populations. We are encouraged to critically examine these partnerships, and refuse, resist, and reject interest groups whose activities undermine community wellbeing, despite their ostensibly ‘positive’ messaging.

We should also loudly advocate against deep-set structures that influence physical activity. Policy ideas such as universal basic incomes to alleviate poverty, and 4-day works weeks to give people more time to connect with their communities, are possibilities for experimenting with different ways of organising. So many of the struggles for physical activity have been collectivist (and transgressive, rather than incremental).

We are excited for the physical activity community to challenge and find alternatives for all sorts of practices in our quest to bring fulfilling experiences to people around the world. Some of these ideas are already emerging. Antunes et al argue that ‘South American countries are importing, and translating in their own way, conservative references from the global north that do not necessarily reflect the continent’s socio-health needs’ (14).  And Knuth and colleagues write that ‘we need to decolonize the field of physical activity and health. We need Black, Indigenous, Latino, African, and other people from the Global South to move the research agenda, recommendations, and policies on physical activity from “any” health to fair health’ (15). It is wonderful to see such voices gaining legitimacy in what has been largely a narrow field.

It will take many years to detect if this reframing of physical activity is working, and possibly confounding variables that make it impossible to examine the exact effects of our efforts. However, this should not stop us from trying. From a social justice perspective, it is essential to recognise that these outcomes are not equally accessible to all populations. Ethnically diverse communities often face structural barriers, cultural norms, and systemic inequities that influence participation (16). Evaluating success therefore requires attention not only to aggregate outcomes, but also to who benefits, who is excluded, and how interventions can be adapted to be culturally sensitive, equitable, and responsive to the needs of historically marginalised groups.

Providing people of all ages with the fulfilment (and health) that comes from meaningful, connective physical activity is worth fighting for. We should be heartened by this Nature collection, and should use it as a springboard to legitimately challenge others as well as ourselves.

References

  • Salvo, D., Crochemore-Silva, I., Wendt, A. et al. (2026). Physical activity for public health in the 21st century. Nat Med. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-026-04237-5
  • Noonan, R. “The Drive for Productivity Drives Physical Inactivity”, Capitalism, Health and Wellbeing: Rethinking Economic Growth for a Healthier, Sustainable Future, (2024). UK, Emerald.
  • Piggin, J. (2020). What is physical activity? A holistic definition for teachers, researchers and policy makers. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 2, 72. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2020.00072
  • Hawes, O., Rigby, B., Flemons, M., Matias, T., & Piggin, J. (2025). Beyond Movement Alone: Rethinking Health Implications of Purposeful Physical (In)Activity, Stillness, and Rest. Journal of physical activity & health, 23(2), 147–150. https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2025-0564
  • Broom, A., Harper, I., Troy, J., Baur, L., & Stamatakis, E. (2025). Physical activity in context: The systems and inequalities of metabolic harm. The Lancet Planetary Health, 9(11), 101323. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanplh.2025.101323
  • Dellacasa, G., & Oliver, E. J. (2024). A case for ‘Collective Physical Activity’: moving towards post capitalist futures. Annals of Leisure Research, 27(3), 435–453. https://doi.org/10.1080/11745398.2023.2208446
  • Santos, F., Malcolm, D., Pullen, E., Marcen, C., Fernandes, P. T., & Beggan, A. (2025). The health-physical activity entanglement in a neoliberal landscape: alternative possibilities for inquiry. Critical Public Health, 35(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/09581596.2025.2524011
  • Hinckson, E., Reis, R., Romanello, M. et al. (2026). Benefit of physical activity initiatives for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Nat. Health, 1, 300–315. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44360-026-00057-6
  • Cillekens B, Huysmans MA, Holtermann A, van Mechelen W, Straker L, Krause N, van der Beek AJ, Coenen P. (2023). Physical activity at work may not be health enhancing. A systematic review with meta-analysis on the association between occupational physical activity and cardiovascular disease mortality covering 23 studies with 655 892 participants. Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health, 49(3), 231–244. https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.4090
  • Ramírez Varela, A., Bauman, A., Woods, C.B. et al. Low global physical activity despite two decades of policy progress. Nat. Health 1, 338–354 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44360-025-00044-3
  • Bowleg L. “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House”: Ten Critical Lessons for Black and Other Health Equity Researchers of Color. Health Education & Behavior. (2021);48(3):237-249.  doi:10.1177/10901981211007402  
  • de Sá TH. Can Coca Cola promote physical activity? Lancet. 2014;383(9934):2041. pmid:24931683.
  • Dai, S., Wellens, J., Yang, N., Li, D., Wang, J., Wang, L., Yuan, S., He, Y., Song, P., Munger, R., Potvin Kent, M., MacFarlane, A. J., Mullie, P., Duthie, S., Little, J., Theodoratou, E., & Li, X. (2024). Ultra processed foods and human health: An umbrella review and updated meta analyses of observational evidence. Clinical Nutrition, 43(6), 1386–1394. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2024.04.016
  • Antunes, P. C. de C., Pasquim, H. M., Corral‑Vázquez, M. R., Castillo, T., Soto‑Lagos, R., Parreira, F. R., Abib, L. T., Cortés‑Garcia, C., Pagola, M. L., & Canon‑Buitrago, E. A. (2025). Physical activity recommendations in South America: A decolonial analysis. Revista Brasileira de Atividade Física & Saúde, 30, e0391. https://doi.org/10.12820/rbafs.30e0391i  
  • Knuth, A. G., Leite, G. S., Dos Santos, S. F. D. S., & Crochemore-Silva, I. (2024). Is It Possible to Decolonize the Field of Physical Activity and Health?. Journal of physical activity & health, 21(7), 633–635. https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2024-0135
  • Faghy, M. A., Carr, J., Broom, D., Mortimore, G., Sorice, V., Owen, R., Arena, R., & Ashton, R. E. M. (2025). The inclusion and consideration of cultural differences and health inequalities in physical activity behaviour in the UK: The impact of guidelines and initiatives. Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, 90, 56–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcad.2025.01.009

The intensifying politics of physical activity

On By Dr Joe Piggin1 Comment

When I started this site ten years ago, my main interests were how physical activity was used to achieve certain goals, including corporate profit, and community compliance with PA guidelines. Underlying these ideas was the very concept of physical activity itself. The way physical activity is defined has consequences for how it is deployed in both science and in society.

So I have been fascinated with some articles which have come out recently. These three articles, discussed below, have overlapping concerns. While they are published in a variety of journals, I wonder if momentum is building with the ideas discussed. Has the orthodox, dominant approach to physical activity run out of energy, or will it continue despite changes like the ones below?

These articles all offer challenges to traditional ways of defining physical activity. At a time of horrific global conflicts, intensifying national politics and the climate emergency (all of which are somehow entangled in physical activity), maybe some of these ideas can provoke us to take positive action in our own communities and in our own work?

First is “A case for ‘Collective Physical Activity’: moving towards post-capitalist futures“ by Gianmarco Dellacasa and Emily Oliver, in 2024. They argue for three things to move towards a better world, 1) diverting attention from organized sport towards personally meaningful physical activities; 2) focusing on bottom-up collective opportunities, rather than top-down ones, and 3) advocating for system change to foster hope and tackle societal issues at their roots. They conclude by saying “collective physical activity can be an opportunity to foster critical consciousness and wider empowerment, trying to replace despondency with hope in the power of collective action.”

Next is “The health-physical activity entanglement in a neoliberal landscape: alternative possibilities for inquiry“ by Fernando Santos, Dominic Malcolm, Emma Pullen, Celia Marcen, Paula Teixeira Fernandes and Angela Beggan in 2025. They offer an alternative perspective to the traditional conception of physical activity. In opposition to neoliberal and capitalistic ideas about physical activity and health they offer a concept of incommensurable health-PA. They propose a “free-flowing, situated and embodied notion of health that creates undetermined opportunities for individuals to feel well with-through movement.” While the paper has many thoughtful ideas, one of the most provocative is this articulation, where the authors are arguing for a radical re-conceptualisation of the status quo: “[Currently] Blame and responsibility get levied against everyone and everything else and thus it becomes an agenda based on control. Conversely, from an epistemic injustice perspective, incommensurable health-PA cannot be controlled by the World Health Organization, scholars or health agencies.” The authors’ concept of health-PA is a rejection of certain knowledges, potentially freeing up other ways of knowing. Diverse knowledges, and their suppression, is the focus of the third article discussed here.

Lastly, and recently, “Physical activity recommendations in South America: a decolonial analysis” by Priscilla de Cesaro Antunes, Heitor Martins Pasquim, María Rosa Corral-Vázquez, Tatiana Castillo, Rodrigo Soto-Lagos, Fernanda Ramos Parreira, Leonardo Trapaga Abib, Claudia Cortés-Garcia, María Laura Pagola, and Edwin Alexander Canon-Buitrago in 2025. This is a particularly insightful article, as it is the first study that I have seen which empirically challenges the ways in which PA/health is created and produced in public health documents in South America. They show that “South American countries are importing, and translating in their own way, conservative references from the global north that do not necessarily reflect the continent’s socio-health needs.” And so the research challenges the orthodox and exclusionary aspects of dominant PA understandings. This is consequential, they argue, because “This [exclusionary] process can be understood as an expression of epistemological-health colonialism, in which the development of fields of knowledge and practices in Latin American countries is marked by centuries of European domination and the political and economic influence of the United States. The power of this hegemony marginalizes critical thinking formulated in Latin America, including regional cultural manifestations”.

In all three articles there is a sentiment of hope, but this comes with the idea that changing things will not be easy – it will take time, energy and a determined outlook, since changing the status quo is not easy. All of these articles raise questions for how we should teach about, research, and promote physical activity.

Which ideas are deemed important?

Who and what is prioritized?

What goals are we trying to accomplish?

How radical should we be when promoting physical activity?

What actions are needed to realize the emancipatory potential of physical activity?


Joe P

The expanding explanations of physical activity

On By Dr Joe Piggin1 Comment

In 2020, I offered an alternative to the dominant, traditional and influential definition of physical activity. For many years, physical activity had been defined in physiological/anatomical terms. And I argued that academics and society were probably worse off because of it. By emphasising different “things” in a definition of PA, we would be better able to research it, learn about it, and make policy to improve people’s lives as a result.

Since 2020, it has been great to see a variety of different articulations of physical activity. I am sure these will expand our comprehension about what physical activity is, and provoke us to ask new questions about what PA means for our lives (and for our government policies). I offer these definitions below. Let me know if you have more to add!

NameYearDefinition
Caspersen, C. J., Powell, K. E., and Christenson, G. M.1985Physical activity is “any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that results in energy expenditure”
Bjørnarå, H.B; Torstveit, M.K; Stea, T.H; Bere, E2017Sustainable physical activity includes “those activities that are conducted with sufficient duration, intensity and frequency for promoting health, yet without excessive expenditure of energy for food, transportation, training facilities or equipment. Sustainable physical activities have low environmental impact and they are culturally and economically acceptable and accessible.”
Piggin, J2020Physical activity is “people moving, acting and performing within culturally specific spaces and contexts, and influenced by a unique array of interests, emotions, ideas, instructions and relationships.”
Budzynski-Seymour, E; Jones, M; Steele, J2022Physical activity experience: “draws upon the area of experience economy, which aims to engage those partaking in an educational, (e)aesthetic, escapist, and entertaining way…. the focus is on engagement. By staging physical activity as an experience, it is proposed that children can actively partake in physical activity in a way that is focused on the experience offered.”
Beggan, A2024Intergenerational physical activity: “a reoriented object that [is] less like behaviour and more like birdsong.” … “In our efforts to gain control of a behavioural problem predominantly understood by its consequences (pathology), we may have too quickly concluded what the world is asking of us, eschewing the plurality of available answers.”

Rugby, corporations and risk

On By Dr Joe Piggin2 Comments

In recent years, I have been involved in various efforts to advocate for accurate representations of injury risks. In rugby specifically, challenging erroneous and misleading claims about injury risk is important, so teachers, parents and players can be given accurate and pertinent information about risk. I and my co-authors have applied our analytical skills to the background processes of risk reporting – that messy and complex interplay of research, policy and practice that eventually manifests as risk information. Speaking of which …

In 2016, I was amongst a group of 73 sport scholars, academics, doctors, and public health professionals who signed an open letter arguing that it was necessary to remove the collision elements of the school game so that children play touch and non-contact rugby.

At face value, the open letter focused on a very small part of school sport. We were only arguing for …

  • one rule change …
  • to one sport …
  • at schools …
  • in one country.

The letter attracted a lot of media attention. And rugby governing bodies devoted a significant amount of resources, time and energy which resisted the proposal. These were press releases, media interviews, and resources seemed to be devoted to journal article writing. Now 6 years has passed since the open letter, it is a useful moment to reflect on some of the claims that were made at the time, particularly as brain health/risk has become very prominent in recent years (which I think makes the open letter particularly prescient).

So a few of us have published an article (behind a paywall at the moment) analyzing some of the responses to our open letter. These responses in academic journals are worth examining for how the proposal was framed by others, and the problems that come with such framing. Feel free to read these articles for context if you have access.

In 2016, Tucker et al. published Article 1 “Injury risk and a tackle ban in youth Rugby Union: reviewing the evidence and searching for targeted, effective interventions. A critical review.”

Then in 2017, Quarrie et al. published Article 2 ‘Facts and values: on the acceptability of risks in children’s sport using the example of rugby — a narrative review’.

In our own article, we argue there are a number of omissions, distortions, and misleading remarks which frame the ideas in our original open letter quite differently. These issues include:

Both articles omitted a long list of proposed reasons/motives for making a rule change, including issues around a duty to inform, a duty of care, issues of compulsory participation, and time loss from school.

Both articles omitted any reference to the proposed solution of children playing touch and non-contact rugby. By only mentioning half the solution, they did a disservice to the open letter.

Article 1 seemed to mis-attribute “cited” “terms”, to make a point about the “acceptability” of rugby participation.

Can all childhood injuries even be prevented?

Article 2 suggested that the open letter signatories believed that “all childhood injuries, regardless of origin, are inherently undesirable and should be prevented.” To be clear, I have never met anyone who has ever proposed that “all childhood injuries should be prevented”. As an approach to daily life and risk management, this idea seems nonsensical. So I found it strange, by virtue of signing a letter about school rugby injuries that I was being implicated with this idea. And it propagated an unbecoming trope – that a group of academics were out of touch with reality to the extent that they wanted to “wrap kids in cotton wool” and would never tolerate any injury. The article even included a quote from a former NZ rugby captain:

“If you look too closely at the game it’s silly really when you bash the hell out of each other. But it’s fun and if you took the risk out of everything you wouldn’t do anything in your life.” Richie McCaw, former All Blacks captain, 2017, (bold added).

Aside from the possible confirmation bias that comes from quoting a successful rugby player in a medical journal, five years on, this quote can be read more critically. With the brain injury crisis that has enveloped collision sports around the world, the inclusion of McCaw’s quote might lead readers to ask questions like – is it really all or nothing? Is “bashing the hell out of eachother” tolerable for me? Is it tolerable for school children? Especially when the long term effects of rugby injuries for former players are beginning to be understood in more detail now.

McCaw’s quote can also be read in contrast with another former national team player from England. Steve Thompson recently said:

“Would I let my kids play rugby at the moment? No, I wouldn’t. Touch rugby, yes. …. Do I think it’s safe for kids to do tackle rugby? No, I don’t…”.

Of course, the letter writers never wanted to take the risk out of everything. It is intriguing that such a trope would be advanced in an article having ostensibly been through a peer review process. A reading of the 1-page text of the open letter would have shown that touch and non-contact rugby was being proposed as an alternative – a sport that of course has injury risks. Unfortunately, the trope of extreme risk-averseness is presented in the form of a rhetorical question for the signatories:

“… what level of injury to children resulting from participation in rugby would be seen by her [Pollock]and the signatories of the open letter as ‘acceptable’, or even ‘tolerable’. If the answer is ‘none’, there is no debate to have. It follows that if no injuries to children are acceptable, contact rugby for children should be banned, with similar logic presumably resulting in bans for other activities that carry risks of injury and/or death to children such as football, gymnastics, cycling/mountain biking, fairground rides, swimming, climbing trees, hiking, rock climbing, snow sports, sailing, fishing, equestrian and being transported to and from school by car or motorcycle.”

And so significant attention in an academic article is devoted to a rhetorical question about all sorts of common activities such as football, hiking and going to school, with the possibility left hanging in the article that these are activities which the signatories would be against. The effect of all this is the signatories are painted as extreme risk avoiders.

What would the equivalent be at the other end of the risk spectrum? I imagine it would be similar to a school rugby promoter being accused of believing that “any” sort of high-risk behaviour should be compulsory for school children. So compulsory unaided rock climbing, compulsory jousting, compulsory bare-knuckle boxing, or whatever other high-risk activity they want to administer. Of course, these suggestions are fanciful, and I would not offer these in an academic discussion as plausible equivalents to the various risks of rugby.

Relatedly, we contest the veracity of the claim that there is a “‘dominant paradigm’ among those working in childhood injury prevention that ‘all childhood injuries, irrespective of origin, are unacceptable’.” Instead we suggest the references supposedly used to support that argument say the opposite – that “injuries can be ‘prevented or controlled’ (italics added) through either primary, secondary, or tertiary prevention – ‘preventing new injuries, reducing the severity of injuries, or decreasing the frequency and severity of disability after an injury’”. Again, the accusations levied in the direction of the open letter signatories do not seem to hold water.

On sociology

Article 2 claimed ‘The values of the signatories of the open letter, most of whom are scholars of sociology, rather than injury prevention or public health, are relevant to what level of risk they believe is acceptable in rugby’. We did a count ourselves on this, and even being generous towards ‘sociology’ in cases of multi-disciplinarity, only 34 out of 73 were predominantly ‘scholars of sociology’. Does 34 out of 73 count as most? No, we don’t think so.

We wonder how this claim was created. It also buys into the trope of positioning the signatories as particularly unknowledgeable about the topic (despite the signatories ironically being accused of deploying the dominant paradigm of injury prevention moments earlier). This frames the letter writers as inexpert in the subject, which would certainly be a tactic deployed by those with an interest in defending the status quo of rugby tackling in schools. In various media, attacking the legitimacy of the signatories seemed to be a popular technique when the letter was first published.

And speaking of sociology, despite not accounting for ‘most’ of the signatories, scholars of sociology focus on a range of closely-related themes – risk, danger, education, policy, power, and control across a wide range of settings and cultures. Sociologists often need to be interdisciplinary, often traverse a wide range of social problems, including different types of risks, and often view social practices holistically. Since the open letter intersected with health, education, safe-guarding, physical education and physical activity, it would seem that sociologists are well placed to contribute. In any case, the 73 signatories of the letter, whatever their background or professional discipline, would have a wide variety of beliefs about all sorts of risks. For example, sociology can be a risky thing to do itself!

Other motives? Or omitted motives?

Article 2 uses an example of one signatory, who once remarked (in a different setting, in a different context), of his apparent contempt for ‘men’s team sports’. This remark was used as the basis to claim that ‘If reasons other than those concerning player welfare were a motive for the authors of the open letter calling for a ban on contact in schools’ rugby, then stating those reasons in the letter would have helped clarify the debate’. But when the article in question had already omitted discussion of many ‘motives’ which were explicitly emphasised in the open letter (including issues of compulsion, consent, and the duty to protect children), this doesn’t quite seem like fair play. This echoes a trope of the letter writers having ulterior motives. Sure, critical analysis of motives is a good thing, but the clearly stated motives (in paragraphs 3, 4, 6 and 7 from the open letter) are entirely ignored in favour of an insinuation of “other reasons” being motives. Advocacy is certainly made more difficult when the original issues raised are not considered at all in responses, and further, when the issues raised are conflated with other matters entirely.

Competing and confounding interests

Speaking of declaring ‘other reasons and motives’, the logical extension of such a suggestion would become quickly unmanageable and probably uncomfortable for the declarers. For example, employees of World Rugby or England Rugby (for example) would need to disclose their specific financial interests at every instance of advocacy as well as all the other benefits they have received through their connection with the sport, as this would surely ‘motivate’ their involvement. I look forward to any author beginning such transparent declaration to ‘clarify the debate’.

Cheekily, and taking declarations to their logical extreme, I wonder if “confounding interests” would be useful to disclose too. For example, I signed the open letter and:

I played collision sports for 7 years.

My support of both the All Blacks and Buffalo Bills has spanned two millennia.

I own a rugby ball.

Do these factors make the proposal more palatable now that I’ve declared my interests? Or should I not have declared any of this? It certainly grates against a narrative that a signatory supposedly doesn’t like rugby.

Distortions of school decision making  

Article 1 claimed that “effective (risk management) interventions must, by definition, be realistic and obtain the support of the major stakeholders within the specific target population”. However, this framing doesn’t work in the UK school setting. If an activity involving an external stakeholder is deemed to be too injurious, then it would not matter whether a ‘major stakeholder’ supports its removal. That’s a decision for the school and education leaders.

Article 1 also frames tackling in school rugby as essential, by claiming that “the danger then, of removing the tackle from compulsory rugby in schools as has been proposed, is that it would deny the need and opportunity to many young players to begin learning a skill set …“. Is there any evidence that shows tackling needs to be learnt by school children? This claim seems more ideological than evidenced based. It is entangled with corporate interests, rather than a pedagogical justification. An imperative to learn to tackle would cement rugby as an essential part of schooling, and would be useful for the corporations who would be detrimentally affected by the removal of tackling from schools.

This point is worthy of a bit more exploration. Which activities for children should we endorse as children “needing” to learn at school? Swimming? Cycling? Self defense? Throwing? Catching? Where does tackling feature in a hierarchy of essential skills to learn?

Incredibly, article 1 concludes by claiming that the proposal “may also lead to unintended consequences such as an increase in the risk of injury later in participation”. I would have thought that any new adult player later in life would be looked after by rugby clubs they join to ensure they are well prepared before being placed in tackle situations. Isn’t progression an important part of skill development, after all?

Corporate interests in rugby research

What I found interesting is that both articles included declarations of ‘competing interests’ from various authors connected to various rugby governing bodies. Many of the claims and distortions mentioned above seem to favour the interests of rugby organisations. We found no distortions and claims in either article that worked against the interests of rugby organisations. Did we not look hard enough? Was this our bias at work? It would be interesting to see if anyone can find any such distortions.

There was one quote, in article 1, which read – “This proposal does, however, deserve substantial scrutiny for the possibility that it may be an effective (albeit extreme) means to improve player welfare…” (bold added). Despite this quote, not only was the potential effectiveness not investigated, the proposed solution of touch and non-contact rugby was not even mentioned. Oh well, so much for the “substantial scrutiny”.

Was the proposal to remove tackling ever really “extreme”?

A recent survey in the UK found more than half of respondents favoured ‘a ban on tackling at Under-14 (65%), Under-16 (58%) and Under-18 (55%) level.’ So even if removing tackling for children (at schools) used to be an ‘extreme’ idea, it’s not anymore.

How influential were corporate interests in all this? Well, there is certainly an entanglement of corporate rugby interests and defense of the status quo. Whether this framing (as we discuss in the article) was accidental or unconscious is a matter for the writers. We assume that no one would try to purposefully mislead readers. I think we should assume that people in professional positions are making genuine attempts to make the world a better place. But equally, there’s a reason why competing interests sections exist. Whether through unconscious drift, or by accident, or both, I think a range of pressures, assumptions, and ways-of-being can affect the messages that are produced, no matter how much science, objectivity, and integrity is espoused. And so, while unaffiliated advocates can be easy targets for claims of bias and skewed opinions, I suspect it can work both ways.

There is nothing sacred about school sport policies. Sports are added to schools, and removed, for all sorts of reasons. For rugby governing bodies, I suspect the removal of tackling from schools would be unbearable (even as a short term, localised, comparative intervention).

Joe Piggin

12 Small Changes to Increase Physical Activity

On By Dr Joe Piggin1 Comment

We know how amazing physical activity can be. The liberation. The fulfilment. The energy. We know about the wide array of benefits for physical and mental health. Concerted efforts have been made to raise physical activity rates around the world, but progress is slow and difficult (Guthold et al., 2018). For many, the pandemic has led to a decrease in their activity levels. Despite the impassioned efforts of physical activity advocates, there is “limited comprehensive policy action commensurate with the size of the problem” (Salvo et al., 2021).
So here are 12 small changes we can all help with to increase activity for all.

  1. Simply change to a 4-day work week. This would instantly give you, your colleagues, and your bosses about 10 more hours of your own time every week. The weekend would instantly increase by 50%. More free time = more activity.
  2. Merely give everybody a universal basic income. It might cut poverty in half, so people can have more free time for active leisure.
  3. Just have co-ed/mixed PE. All that time spent on dividing a class up could be used to have PE instead. Mixed classes will help children prepare for a lifetime of living amongst people who are different. And kids might learn about new ways of being physically active. And they might make new friends, and not be separated from their existing friends simply because of their sex/gender.
  4. Here’s a radical idea — let children play outside their homes. You can play outside too if you want.
  5. Nationalize or socialize your country’s health care. It will be better for everyone (except maybe health insurance company owners). Sick people won’t have to worry if they can access health-care. They can spend their money at their local swimming pool or gym instead.
  6. Make local swimming pools free. And local gyms. And local running tracks.
  7. One for the men. Make sure women feel as free and safe to be active any time and any place as you/we do.
  8. If you’re in England, change the rules that mean you can only access 8% of land to walk or cycle on. Think of how more active you could be!
  9. Simply get your local council to build high quality, strong bike lockers on every street. Big ones. Really big ones. Paint murals on them.
  10. Suggestions welcome!
  11. And more suggestions welcome!
  12. In the spirit of Christmas, can we get to 12?

England Rugby CEO makes “unbelievable” claims about rugby injuries.

On By Dr Joe PigginLeave a comment

In the midst of managing this concussion crisis, the CEO of England Rugby is quoted in The Guardian as saying “Our evidence shows that rugby is no more dangerous than other sports”.
This is not believable, because actual scientific evidence shows the exact opposite. Here’s a sample of this evidence:

This study published only a few weeks ago and endorsed by England Rugby found that: “Across the spectrum of participation, contact rugby union has high injury and concussion incidence rates relative to other sports…”
This study found that 48 percent of Irish U20 players surveyed had sustained at least one concussion, and the average was 2.25 concussions.
This study of Ireland school rugby players aged 12 to 18 found a lifetime prevalence of diagnosed concussion at 19.4 percent, and an annual concussion prevalence of 6.6%.
This study of 416 New Zealand high school rugby players found that “69% of players had sustained a suspected concussion”.
This study claimed “Compared with semi-contact team sports such as soccer, rugby union has 4 times the incidence of injury, with the potential for more serious injuries.”

Rugby governing bodies are no strangers to promoting false information about injuries to children. In 2017, England Rugby retracted their entire Rugby Safe booklet after myself and Prof Alan Bairner informed England Rugby that they were making false and misleading claims. (Those false and misleading claims were pretty much exactly what the current England Rugby CEO is claiming now.)
A few months earlier, myself and Prof Allyson Pollock explained that World Rugby had made false and misleading claims about injuries to children. CEO Brett Gosper accepted this in a journal (though not through a press release), and they eventually retracted the misleading material. (Again, those false and misleading claims were pretty much exactly what the current England Rugby CEO is claiming now.)

Yesterday’s false and misleading claims by the England Rugby CEO show an ongoing pattern of risk trivialisation. Across many sports, there have been abuses and mistreatment of children in sport. Making misleading claims about injury risks to children is an assault on the credulity of parents and children. It is a corruption of the scientific canon and dereliction of England Rugby’s duty of care.

On a more personal level, it’s particularly disturbing that data on traumatic injuries to children is being ignored by the leadership of England rugby. It’s like those children’s injuries don’t matter enough.

I am particularly surprised such a wild claim about injury risk is being made when England Rugby is facing questions about it’s treatment of professional players. I call for England Rugby to retract their most recent wild, unbelievable claim.

Lastly, here is a draft infographic which focuses on the risks in rugby…

What are the injury risks involved in playing rugby?

On By Dr Joe PigginLeave a comment

I’ve had some interesting interactions over the years with organisations who have made bold (inaccurate) claims about the risks of participating in rugby. Here is a humble start to shape some information for parents who want to know more about some of the immediate and possible long term injury risks that come from playing rugby. I’ve tried to be as concise and candid as possible. Weighing up what to include and exclude is a an important issue when shaping and crafting injury risk information for public consumption. Feedback is welcome on this!

Physical activity for liberation and repression

On By Dr Joe PigginLeave a comment

Many governments are trying to “nudge” their residents and citizens to be slightly more active.

But some governments are doing the opposite.

Some governments are trying to repress their citizens to be more docile.

We see only glimpses of the brutality. But these glimpses are enough to convince any reasonable uninvolved onlooker to side with the unarmed peaceful protesters, the children in schools, the girls sitting on benches.

Belarus (a country I have never been to) has seen 80 days of peaceful protests by citizens demanding fair elections. The “government” has censored media, tried to expel opposition political leaders, and begun a brutal regime of repression against the protesters. The repression has resulted in deaths of many, and physical trauma and mental trauma for hundreds, if not thousands of detained people.

But people in Belarus persist. For months they have staged powerful demonstrations of their commitment to their cause. As someone spectating from afar, I could be criticized for succumbing to propaganda campaigns. But I have seen enough footage to be convinced of whose side I choose. When faceless goons brutally repress protesters who are simply standing, talking or walking, one side loses any claim to legitimacy. The goons have kidnapped children from school.

And still the protests persist. In response they sing more, march more and dance more. It is politics through physical activity. Muscular goons versus peaceful marchers. Who will win?

John Lewis, the USA civil right campaigner and congressman spoke about the “good trouble, necessary trouble” he got into. One of the most important methods for change was marching. Being present, occupying physical spaces and antagonizing the “official” order of things were seen to be a legitimate action in the face of oppression.

Can we and when should we teach and encourage “good trouble”? And how can we it be used most effectively? The risks of engaging are in good trouble are very real. Physical, spiritual and material harm may result and the is no guarantee of success. Can this form of physical activity be called “healthy”? Perhaps it will be for the protesters in the future, but not immediately.

Control of physical activity

On the other side of creative, celebratory protest, are the officials ordered to maintain … order. Denying people movement is a well established form of punishment. Shackles, locks and walls are all used to limit people’s physical activity, both on an individual level and a population level. Yet wherever there is dominating power, there is resistance to it. For example, Mark Norman (2017) notes that while prisons are institutions built to physically contain certain individuals, they are also sites for the development and expression of vibrant physical cultures.

Outside of prisons too, there is a ever-present interplay between autonomy and control. In the day to day hum-drum of life:
Individuals spend time, attention and money trying to control their own bodies, their emotions and health.
Governments spend time, attention and money trying to control other people’s bodies, emotions and health.
Organisations spend time, attention and money trying to control their members.

Good control for physical activity

Control is often an unpalatable word though. Instead, policies in relatively peaceful nations which promote physical activity use terms like encourage, inspire, manage, nudge, and educate as proxies for their desire to control. Most often, physical activity promoters emphasize the liberating potential of physical activity. The idea that being physically active will somehow free oneself from stress and other people is appealing, and the therapeutic effect of activity is increasingly popular in policy, with its association to mental well-being. Physical activity policies cannot impose strict regulation of physical activity (expect perhaps for school physical education), and so increasing emphasis is given to controlling  physical landscapes to facilitate increased population physical activity rates.

A final thought

There have traditionally been 3 “domains” of physical activity – work, leisure and routines of daily life (including active transport). I wonder where a protest march would fit? Hmmm, we might need a new domain.