Physical activities and body practice: in the SUS, does the order of factors change the product?

Abstract

Introduction: In Brazil, especially within the policies, programs, and actions of the Unified Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde - SUS) that link human body movement to health, we witness a debate about the convergences and divergences between the terms/concepts of “body practice” and “physical activities”. Objective: To reflect on these convergences and divergences, since such practices are strategic actions for health promotion and comprehensive care within the Unified Health System (SUS), which was done in an essay performed by presenting some concepts, followed by a discussion of possible synergies and complementarities. Development: This reflection is linked to Collective Health, particularly the underlying field of Policy, Planning, and Management, as it seeks to understand how this conceptual and terminological debate reverberates in the daily actions of the Brazilian healthcare system. Both concepts, “body practice” and “physical activities”, have undergone changes considering the temporality between the seminal concepts and their reinterpretations, as they came into contact with other frameworks and were questioned and criticized. In the national context, the conceptual debate resulted in using a distinct term – body practice, while internationally, the proposed changes retained the original denomination – physical activity. Final considerations: Regardless of the term used, within SUS policies, programs, and actions must signify a catalyst for different dimensions of the relationship between human bodily movement and health, integrating the biological, social, cultural, and economic perspectives to reduce inequities and expand access to such practices for the Brazilian population.