Physical Activity, Sports and Health: Reflections and Challenges based on Sustainability

About this Research Topic

Background

The benefits of regular practice of sports and physical activity for the health of individuals and populations have been studied for a long time. Initially, and until very recently, the emphasis was on the main positive outcomes from the perspective of cardiovascular, metabolic and mental health, as well as cancer prevention and treatment. With the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic at the end of 2019, different researchers around the world began trying to understand the benefits of sport and physical activity for strengthening the immune system. In this sense, it is very important to understand how physical activity can impact the prevention and treatment of both communicable and non-communicable health problems and how the sustainable development goals (SDGs) can impact this context.

The objective of this research topic is to discuss in light of the knowledge already produced, including analyzes of possible controversies, about the extent to which sport and physical activity can prevent and treat communicable and non-communicable diseases in a sustainable way.

The Research Topic is based on the conference on “Physical Activity, strengthening the immune system and public health: challenges based on sustainability” which was held in 2023, at the International Symposium on Sports Sciences, in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. It is important to highlight that the central theme of the event was “Physical Activity, Sports and Sustainability. Furthermore, during the event the International Manifesto for promoting physical activity in the post-Covid-19 was discussed, which contains 12 important items to call for action in this context.

The main research topics we would like to discuss are:

- Link between sustainable development objectives and the practice of physical activity and sports
- Amount of physical activity (duration and intensity) for the prevention and treatment of communicable and non-communicable diseases and Sustainability
- The importance of physical activity in post-Covid syndrome and learning for future pandemics based on sustainability
- Physical Activity, Sports and sustainable cities
- Physical Activity in Large Communities and Sustainability
- Equipment and clothing for physical activity and sustainability
- Physical Activity and Sports at School and Sustainability
- Pandemic of physical inactivity and sustainability: tidying up the house first and then thinking about changing the world
- Cost of physical inactivity, public health and sustainability.

Thus, observational studies, both cross-sectional and longitudinal, in addition to systematic reviews and meta-analyses, as well as intervention studies on physical activity in the prevention and treatment of communicable and non-communicable health problems, that try to reflect and analyze the challenges based on sustainability, are welcome for this special edition.

Keywords: Physical activity, physical exercise, cardiovascular health, metabolic health, mental health, immune system, sustainability, sustainable development objectives

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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