A timely and thought-provoking contribution to the study of sports, leisure, and health

Karin Andersson
Dept. of Sport Sciences, Malmö University

The edited volume Social Issues in Sport, Leisure, and Health (2024), edited by Sine Agergaard and David Karen, offers a timely and thought-provoking contribution to the study of sports, leisure, and health. Through twelve chapters, the volume explores the reflexive relationship between social issues and individuals’ engagement with physical activity, challenging dominant discourses that place excessive emphasis on personal responsibility. Drawing on C. Wright Mills’ (1959) concept of the sociological imagination, the authors illustrate how individual “personal troubles” in accessing and participating in sports, leisure, and exercise are linked to larger public issues, thereby connecting biography and history (p. 2).

Structure and analysis of individual chapters

The book is organized into three main sections, each addressing a different dimension of the intersection between social issues and sport, leisure, and health.

• • Part One: ‘Social Issues in Sport and Leisure Participation’
  • Part Two: ‘Social Issues in Promoting Physical Activity and Health’
  • Part Three: ‘Social Issues in Developing Sport and Society’

The introduction provides an insightful critique of neoliberal structures that promote an individualistic view of physical activity. The editors argue that dominant health discourses frequently attribute inactivity or exclusion to individual failure, ignoring structural barriers and inequalities (p. 1-2). The introduction also grounds the volume in key sociological frameworks, notably those of Mills (1959), Blumer (1969), and Burawoy (2004), giving the reader theoretical tools to approach the following chapters.

Part One, ‘Social Issues in Sport and Leisure Participation’, explores how access to sport and leisure activities is shaped by structural and systemic factors. It challenges the common neoliberal assumption that participation is solely an individual choice, instead illustrating how broader social inequalities play a key role. Chapter 1: Access to Sport Participation, for example, examines how barriers to participation are rooted in systemic inequalities rather than individual shortcomings. Rikke Lambertz-Nilssen Hjort explores the effectiveness of equality-based versus equity-based sports interventions for adolescents, demonstrating that simply increasing access is insufficient, as not all groups will benefit equally from “more of the same” (p. 19). Similarly, Chapter 2 focuses on disability and sports inclusion, using Lykkeliga, a handball team for athletes with disabilities, as a case study. This chapter challenges traditional performance-based frameworks, emphasizing community-building and self-defined participation goals as an alternative approach to sport.

For instance, they prompt athletes with questions such as, “How can you describe your anger (…) does it have a specific color?”, allowing for a more distanced exploration of emotions and experiences.

Part Two, ‘Social Issues in Promoting Physical Activity and Health’, shifts the focus to how physical inactivity is experienced across different life stages and identities. Chapter 6: Physical Inactivity and Social Determinants by Knud Ryom and Camilla Bakker Simonsen provides a compelling example of narrative-based research, presenting first-person accounts from physically inactive individuals at different stages of life. These introspective narratives, such as “My life is changing” (young adults, 18-29 years) (p. 89), immerse the reader in personal experiences of inactivity. The diary-style reflections – “My health is good (…) However, sometimes I get the feeling that I am isolated from others” (p. 89) – humanize abstract social determinants, offering a vivid illustration of the lived realities behind inactivity statistics. The analysis then incorporates a social ecological model, linking individual experiences to broader structural factors (p. 93). Expanding on this critique of neoliberal health discourses, Chapters 7 and 8 explore how health is framed as an individual responsibility, often neglecting the structural barriers that limit physical activity. In particular, Verena Lenneis offers an intriguing intersectional analysis of how religion, ethnicity, and gender shape women’s engagement with physical activity in chapter 7: Understanding Disparities in Healthy Living from an Intersectional Perspective. She concludes that “[r]eligious feelings of modesty were intertwined with ethnicity, both of which were gendered” (p. 107), illustrating the complex and layered influences on health, integration, ethnicity, and exercise behaviors.

Finally, Part Three, ‘Social Issues in Developing Sport and Society’, shifts the discussion toward broader sociocultural and structural transformations in sport. This section opens with a thought-provoking interdisciplinary chapter (9) titled From Individual Fixing to Relational Guidance in Narrative Sport Psychology, written by Niels Nygaard Rossing and Ludvig Johan Torp Rasmussen. In this chapter, the authors introduce their narrative therapeutic approach to sport psychology, which reframes personal disorders as socio-relational disorders. Drawing on their empirical experiences and field notes, they argue that sport psychologists often “treat the effect of the problem instead of the actual problem” (p. 132).

Notably, their analysis incorporates Michel Foucault’s concept of the “medical gaze”, a perspective more commonly found in sociology, the humanities, and educational sciences. Their approach also demonstrates a strong linguistic emphasis, as they encourage athletes to articulate their experiences using metaphors. For instance, they prompt athletes with questions such as, “How can you describe your anger (…) does it have a specific color?” (p. 139), allowing for a more distanced exploration of emotions and experiences. Ultimately, they conclude that “the relevance of using the narrative approach is that it allows the practitioner to focus on the socio-relational circumstances of seemingly personal troubles” (p. 141), reinforcing the central theme of this section: understanding sport through a broader socio-cultural lens rather than reducing issues to the individual.

The volume concludes with Chapter 12: Developing Creative Climates in Sports, in which Ludvig Johan Torp Rasmussen provides a concise yet comprehensive literature review on the intensification of modern sport as a societal issue. This chapter is particularly valuable for readers seeking a theoretical overview of how sports culture has developed within broader socio-economic contexts and how contemporary sport is increasingly shaped by issues of professionalization, commercialization, and intensified performance expectations.

Strengths and limitations

A major strength of the volume is its ability to connect micro, meso, and macro levels of analysis. The use of empirical case studies, first-person narratives, and sociological theory makes the book accessible and analytically rigorous. This multi-layered approach successfully bridges individual experiences with broader societal structures, aligning well with the editors’ goals. Furthermore, the volume brings various colorful theories into conversation, which showcases what is possible to achieve with empirical data. You will find a postcolonial approach, an intersectional approach, Mills sociological imagination, Foucault, ethnography and more. However, one notable limitation is the geographical scope. Many of the authors are based in Denmark, and the chapters predominantly draw on Danish contexts. While the issues discussed are broadly relevant, the editors could have explicitly acknowledged this limitation or provided broader international perspectives in the introduction.

Conclusion

Overall, Social Issues in Sport, Leisure, and Health is a significant and timely contribution to the fields of sport sociology and public health. It is particularly relevant for students, practitioners, and early career researchers in sport sociology, public health, and leisure studies who seek to understand the interplay between individual exercise practices and broader societal structures. One of the book’s key strengths lies in its clear definition of theoretical terminology, making it accessible even to non-specialist readers. Moreover, while it may seem evident that societal constraints shape individual experiences, effectively demonstrating and articulating this relationship remains a challenge. In my view, this is the book’s greatest achievement. As the editors emphasize, their goal is “to engage students and young researchers in thinking about the objects of their studies as opportunities to exercise their sociological imaginations and to turn private troubles into public issues” (p. 5).

The book’s contemporary relevance further underscores its importance. At a time when individualism often takes precedence over collectivism, this volume provides a crucial counterpoint by illustrating how broader social determinants shape health, sport participation, and leisure activities. Additionally, it highlights the collective benefits of sport participation, reinforcing its role in fostering social inclusion and equity. While the book’s empirical focus is primarily on Denmark, the themes it explores are widely applicable, offering critical insights into contemporary social issues that can be transferred beyond national borders.

Copyright © Karin Andersson 2025