Physical Activity among Adult Women Living in a Poor Neighborhood of Metropolitan Buenos Aires: Material Constraints, Family Responsibilities, and Territorial Resources

• In Event: Integration, State Policies, and Social Change in Sport

Abstract

Physical activity is promoted by experts and government agencies as a lifestyle factor that helps to improve health and well-being and to prevent chronic diseases and risk factors. Cross-national quantitative research consistently shows that poor women are one of the most disadvantaged social groups in their chances to practice recreational physical activity and sports. Based on a qualitative fieldwork we conducted in 2015 and 2016, in this paper we analyze the constraints that adult poor women face to practicing physical activity, including material aspects and the “time poverty” that stems from the type of paid work they do and their family responsibilities. We also look at neighborhood-level dimensions related to the physical and social environment that work either as facilitators or restraints. Our theoretical framework integrates debates from the sociology of health and social inequalities and the population health approach. Data come from six focus groups that we carried out with 39 women who reside in a poor neighborhood of Metropolitan Buenos Aires.

Author

• Betina Freidin, Universidad de Buenos Aires