A ten-year study of residents of the city of São Paulo, Brazil, revealed that leisure-time physical activity is highly unequal and that the gap between social strata is widening. While highly educated white men are exercising more, women from racial minorities with low levels of education have the lowest rates of physical activity during leisure time. In contrast, exercise associated with urban transportation, such as walking to work, is distributed more evenly across different population segments. The data were published in May in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.
While other studies in the Global North have examined social factors influencing sports participation, this study stands out as a pioneering effort. Led by scientists at the University of São Paulo (USP), it tracked 978 participants from 2014 to 2024, with data collected at three time points: 2014/15, 2020/21, and 2023/24.
Based on an analysis of how different social characteristics combine to shape people’s opportunities and experiences (known as intersectional social identities) over time, the scientists advocate prioritizing the most vulnerable groups in public policies aimed at promoting physical and recreational activities.
We concluded that engaging in physical activity for leisure doesn’t depend solely on motivation or individual choice. It’s shaped by environmental, structural, and social factors. We found that inequalities persisted and the gap between groups widened over ten years of follow-up. Unfortunately, this type of activity remains a privilege of the most socially advantaged groups, which we identified as white men with higher levels of education. Conversely, the most vulnerable are Black, Brown, Asian, or Indigenous women with fewer years of schooling.”
Andreia Alexandra Machado Miranda, nutritionist and corresponding author of the article
She is currently a member of the Center for Epidemiological Research in…
