As Academias a Céu Aberto em Belo Horizonte: interfaces entre lazer e saúde

Abstract

The Outdoor Gym is a public policy which aims to equip squares and parks with equipment that is designed to develop leisure and sport. In connection with the Belo Horizonte (MG) Deputy Secretary of Leisure, this policy started in 2010 and provides gym equipment without the use of weights, which means that the user exercises using his own body weight in order to engage in physical activity. Thus, considering that leisure is one of the determinant components of health, this study intended to articulate the leisure and health themes through this growing public policy in Belo Horizonte. Therefore, the aim of this research was to investigate the Outdoor Gym Program in accordance with the Deputy Secretary of Leisure guidelines and the users understanding. For this reason, I researched the operational characteristics of the Outdoor Gyms, how the leisure and health themes are considered, what is the users understanding, and how they use the Outside Gyms. Considering methodology, bibliographic, documentation and field research was performed. Leisure, health and public policy themes guided the bibliographic research. The documentation researchwas done with Belo Horizonte City Hall website materials and documents from the Deputy Secretary of Leisure. The field research was done through the participant observation method in three Outdoor Gyms located in city squares. A semistructured questionnaire was given to 243 participants and a semistructured interview was conducted with the person responsible for managing the Belo Horizonte Outdoor Gym. Data processing was performed using the content analysis technique, the Statistical Package for Social Science for Windows (SPSS), and Nvivo softwares. As a result, I identified that there isnt a project with in the norms and guidelines of this policy which connects this type of leisure activity to a simple practice contrary to the high-level sport. Even more, the policy does not provide appropriate monitoring, which can interfere with in its management and continuity. About the relationship between health and leisure, the majority of Outdoor Gym users are looking to improve their health. They use Outdoor Gyms for medical reasons, because its free, to interact with other people, and to maintain their health. However, they associate this activity as a leisure moment, one that is connected to pleasure, distraction, socializing, nature, relaxation and time outside of work. I discovered that the location, structure, and use of the square have an effect on the users and the way they use the Outside Gym. Consequently, studies that relate health and leisure are recent and contribute to this interdisciplinary field. Their purpose is enable critical reflection on the perspectives and practices that society has for such public policies, those which aim to provide physical activities in public spaces designed for leisure.