The health-physical activity entanglement in a neoliberal landscape: alternative possibilities for inquiry

Health-physical activity (PA) seem to be inseparable undisputed partners in the incessant quest for increased well-being, prosocial behaviors, motor competence and positive mental health. However, it should be noted this is not an innocent partnership that simply aims to create a healthier and therefore more just world. Neoliberal and capitalistic health-PA seeks not only to achieve economic and political gains but also to instill standards, programs and social expectations establishing, in effect, a well-being washing agenda. While recognizing the health effects of PA, the purpose of this critical commentary is to reimagine the health-PA entanglement by advancing alternative possibilities for its inquiry and prompting critical thinking on the societal implications of these efforts. Such possibilities for inquiry will be guided by an alternative perspective designated incommensurable health-PA. Simply stated, incommensurable health-PA replaces existing neoliberal or capitalist models of PA with a free-flowing, situated and embodied notion of health that creates undetermined opportunities for individuals to feel well with-through movement. Inquiry on-with incommensurable health-PA can potentially yield insights that instigate the development of more just and fairer policies, guidelines and intervention programs with-for communities. Implications for inquiry are provided through a question-focused approach that challenges scholars across fields to venture into the development of contextualized yet always contingent answers.