Leisure and health – critical commentary

ABSTRACT

This critical commentary presents a selected overview of conceptual, theoretical and methodological trajectories in leisure and health. It includes critical scholarship about the meanings, politics and practices of health in the leisure sphere. The commentary illustrates the complex sociocultural and political character of leisure and human health relations. It argues that leisure studies scholarship as a critical and ethical form of inquiry, is strongly positioned to make a difference not only to leisure and health knowledge within the academy, but also to public health decision-making, and experiences of leisure-health practices around the world. The commentary concludes that future work in leisure and health needs to more explicitly and critically address the wider policy debates about the physical and mental health benefits of leisure beyond physical activity including critical examination of the potential negative health consequences of leisure.

KEYWORDS:

• Leisure
• health
• public health

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Louise Mansfield

Louise Mansfield is Professor of Sport, Health and Social Sciences and research lead for Welfare, Health and Wellbeing in the Institute for Environment, Health and Societies at Brunel University London, UK. Her research focuses on the relationship between communities, sport, physical activity and public health. She has extensive expertise in partnership and community approaches to physical activity and issues of health, wellbeing, inequality and diversity. Louise has over 10 years' experience of leading research projects for sport and public health organisations in the UK including the Department of Health, Youth Sport Trust, Sport Scotland, Economic and Social Research Council, Medical Research Council, Macmillan Cancer Support, Public Health England and Sport England. Louise has published widely in academic journals on the sociology of sport, leisure, and public health and is known for developing evidence to inform policy and practice.