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Editorial
Call for ‘movement equity’: what (and who) are we still missing in the conversation on physical activity and health?
  1. Jane S Thornton1,2
  1. 1 Western Centre for Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Western Ontario Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, Ontario, Canada
  2. 2 Fowler Kennedy Sport Medicine Clinic, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
  1. Correspondence to Dr Jane S Thornton, Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Western Ontario Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, Canada; jane.s.thornton{at}gmail.com

https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2023-107524

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    Worldwide, we are experiencing a physical inactivity crisis which disproportionately affects marginalised communities, including women and girls,1 racialised and socioeconomically disadvantaged communities.2 The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these inequities.3 Despite best practice guidance and Calls to Action from the WHO4 and UNESCO,5 we are falling short of our global physical activity targets. What (and who) are we missing?

    To introduce a term, ‘movement equity’ prioritises fairness and equality of access across the physical activity continuum for all, and expands on traditional definitions to consider the holistic practices, functions and healing purposes that support high quality and culturally relevant healthcare and policy. Physical activity and sport can be transformative tools for promoting equity,6 but only if we broaden our view to include the rich diversity of physical activity practices, including their meanings and the environments in which they occur.

    In the most traditional sense, physical activity confers a multitude of health-improving and life-saving benefits, including prevention of chronic disease, reduction in all-cause mortality and improvement in mental health and well-being.7 Across diverse communities, physical activity may further draw meaning from purposeful movement in ceremony or rehabilitation; for others, it may be the scoring of a golden …

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    Footnotes

    • Twitter @janesthornton

    • Contributors JT developed the idea, wrote and revised the manuscript.

    • Funding JST is a Canada Research Chair funded through the Canadian Institutes for Health Research.

    • Competing interests JT is an editor of the BJSM.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.