Legacy of the Olympics - will more people take up exercise?
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Legacy of the Olympics - will more people take up exercise?
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With the 2012 London Olympics a year away I wonder what it's legacy will be? Will it inspire more people to take up sport and exercise more? Or is this wishful thinking? The UK government hoped it wou
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Legacy of the Olympics - will more people take up exercise?
posted at 1/7/2011 11:26 AM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 1452
First: 7/4/2011 Last: 25/5/2013 |
With the 2012 London Olympics a year away I wonder what it's legacy will be? Will it inspire more people to take up sport and exercise more? Or is this wishful thinking? The UK government hoped it would inspire people to take up more exercise, but is the spectacle of Usain Bolt something that inspires us to take up running or do we look at it in awe? Or will the effort needed to be an olympian be so mesmerising that people are put off and the intial buzz from the games will soon fizzle out. A report about this issue was published recently called Active Celebration Using the London 2012 Games to Get the Nation Moving Should we be so sports focused in getting people healthy? Surely there are other things we can do in our lives that exert enough energy that are healthy. What about less obvious activities, like gardening? Are we being too narrow and simplistic in our views about what the legacy of the games should leave? |
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Re: Legacy of the Olympics - will more people take up exercise?
posted at 1/7/2011 3:40 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 138
First: 25/5/2011 Last: 24/5/2013 |
As a small boy I remember another small boy at my school who would daily spend the whole of playtime asking people to race him across the playground. To be friendly and to satisfy my curiosity about his incessant requests, on one occasion I accepted his offer and he easily beat me. This should have been no suprise to anybody, since I was an ungainly child who had never really liked sport and had not, like him, spent months practising this feat. What I had not anticipated was his behaviour that followed beating me in our playtime running match. For the rest of the day, at every opportunity, he reminded me that, "Beat ya!". This behaviour took a few days of considerable self-control on my part, in not reacting to the provocation, before it finally extinguished. By the end of it I had formed a view about sporting people which is yet to be dispelled. That is, that to these individuals winning is an entirely selfish experience generated in order to bolster flagging self-esteem by imparting a feeling of dominance over others or the world around them. There is no genuine purpose in running 100 metres in a straight line on a prepared track unless your personality needs you to "beat": others; yourself, in a personal best time; or a record and hence beat the entire world. You can then feel that you are a "winner" and so indulge yourself by telling somebody, verbally or non-verbally "Beat ya". In my current physical condition, even if I loved watching, reading or dreaming about being a champion sprinter, it is fairly certain that after going down to my local athletic club and asking them to assist me in beating my current personal best of 48 seconds for 100m, they would just not be interested and would not take me seriously. I doubt that they would be able to empathise with somebody who just loves being on the track, savouring the atmosphere, identifying rare trainers and always on the look-out for a new model of stopwatch for his collection. The Olympics, and all those involved in any form of serious sport, I would suggest, are only really interested in winning and doing this solely for themselves. To address the national pride question, I would suggest scaling it down. Which would you think is the most useful full-time job for a Council to invest limited funds in when asked to choose between employing somebody to run around the streets against the clock or to actually sweep the town streets clean? Now which should a public-spirited athlete choose? However I would anticipate them arguing that the good name of the town is their only desire, and that by winning in a race against the next town that all the citizens in the home town will benefit. Well, maybe we will all look a little deeper into this claim when we step in you-know-what walking home after work. So, to answer your question. Will ordinary people who cope quite adequately in life without sport or regular exercise suddenly develop a flaw in their personality that generates an overwhelming desire to "beat" others in futile activities? No. While others run around, throw things or swim in pools of water, the rest of us will keep Society functioning. In my experience playtime was not the focus of the school day, and regardless of who had achieved what during the thirty-minute break, it was all quite meaningless compared to what was offered to us in our books, our lessons and our plans to progress to real jobs. I believe the majority of people will have felt the same way and are unlikely to change their views now. |
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Re: Legacy of the Olympics - will more people take up exercise?
posted at 9/11/2011 10:57 AM GMT
on bmj.com
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Posts: 2952
First: 10/3/2009 Last: 25/5/2013 |
No. Increase your lithium, lad. Are you hearing voices too?
We have become a species of spectators. The width of stadium seats is increasing everywhere. In my hospital we have jumbo wheelchairs about a metre wide and people too fat for the CT scanner (limit 140 kg). I now see people with BMI of 50 and 60! The species will become extinct soon from syndrome X. Now hand me the remote and the chips while i have another beer. |
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Re: Legacy of the Olympics - will more people take up exercise?
posted at 21/6/2012 2:22 PM BST
on bmj.com
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*Moderator*
Posts: 1452
First: 7/4/2011 Last: 25/5/2013 |
A new BMJ feature explores this issue in a little more depth. It's worth a read: http://www.bmj.com/content/344/bmj.e4207 Lord Coe's sales pitch was that the London Olympics would inspire more people to exercise and would be a revolution in improving public health. It seems that this rhetoric whilst impressive was a bit thin on the detail. Fred Coalter, professor of sports policy at Stirling University has said that when Manchester hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2002, that it only had a trickle down effect and only led to minimal uptake of physical activity. I'm a little surprised that anyone would have thought that the Olympics would actually get the whole nation moving. Olympians and elite athletes achieve things we could only dream of or are simply not genetically disposed to ever achieve. There is a serious disconnect between watching an elite athlete and going for a run 3 times a week. It appears that Coe inspired the IOC with his promise to improve public health and take up of exercise. Why they chose to believe this without any evidence or some kind of strategy of how this might be achieved is beyond me. A colleague visited the Olympics site the other day and said the buildings and equipment is amazing but that some of the hi-tech equipment is in fact owned by private companies who will remove and sell on the equipment to the highest bidder after the games. Nevertheless, I hope that the Olympics does inspire future athletes and gets us off our lazy bums. But in terms of transforming our attitudes towards sport, I think it will take a lot more than simply hosting the games to do so. |
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Re: Legacy of the Olympics - will more people take up exercise?
posted at 21/6/2012 5:18 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 478
First: 15/11/2008 Last: 21/8/2012 |
Kids will be more likely influenced by the Olympics and a desire to take up or increase activity in sports. Adults probably not as there is no real possibility of being able to perform on such a stage and level in the future. Its a spectacle for adults and a dream for kids. I am going to a couple of events however I can not envisage I will take up a sport as a result of my attendance for the following reasons: 1. I prefer to be a spectator 2. See point 1 |
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Re: Legacy of the Olympics - will more people take up exercise?
posted at 21/6/2012 5:58 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 2060
First: 12/3/2010 Last: 24/5/2013 |
No doubt, Duane, but over a quarter of a million people were inspired enough to volunteer as 'Gamesmakers' for these Olympics. Only 75000 have been selected, to be unpaid, not even expences, volunteers to enable the Games to take place. Those I have met have been of all ages, from older than me to 16 year olds. There are over 200 people who are only 12 years old who have been selected to be Torchbearers. I think, I hope, that will be a legacy. John |
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Re: Legacy of the Olympics - will more people take up exercise?
posted at 21/6/2012 6:22 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 43
First: 10/2/2010 Last: 5/11/2012 |
I think, for a lot of people, it depends on the starting point. It might, for instance, inspire people who used to enjoy a given sport to give it another try if they see it being highlighted. Or it might inspire people already doing sports to train a bit harder. But if you're not into sports, it seems unlikely to suddenly inspire an interest. Now, the London marathon on the other hand, in which you see many different shapes, sizes, and ages of people competing, might actually get people to try going out for a bit of a jog. Possibly. |
Forums » Off duty » News & media » Legacy of the Olympics - will more people take up exercise?
