This book brings together essays analyzing the impact of sport and physical activity on psychophysical well-being and quality of life, through multidisciplinary and multi-country studies. It discusses how the commercial dimension of sport entertainment and recreational dimension of sport practice have been increasingly brought together in discussions on individual health and well-being, and social integration and participation. It therefore considers the relationship between sports practice, enjoyment of sporting events, sport participation and quality of life. The chapters examine various aspects of the practice of sport for professional and recreational purposes from the perspective of age, life course research, physical education in schools, government investment in sport activities across various stages of life, the rise of sports tourism as a global industry and how social networks and web apps are changing the perception of fitness. This innovative book is of interest to scholars and students of sport science, leisure studies, and well-being research.

Autorentext

Paolo Corvo is Associate Professor at the University of Gastronomic Sciences, where he teaches travel cultures and social change at the undergraduate level. He deals with issues related to food and consumption, sustainable food and wine tourism, indicators of quality of life, wellbeing and happiness. He has carried out research and training activities for public and private corporations on elements related to quality of life, tourism and regional socio-economic development, and processes of globalization and civil society. He has published numerous essays and articles in English. He is a member of Happiness Study Group of British Sociological Association, and Aiquav, the Italian association for quality of life studies. He is a member of RN 05, Sociology of Consumption, of the European Sociological Association.

Fabio Massimo Lo Verde is a member of Department of Economics, Business and Statistics at the University of Palermo and Full Professor of Sociology and Sociology of Consumption. From 2005 to 2010 he was head of the Social Science Department at the University of Palermo, and from 2005 to 2011 he was coordinator of the PhD course in Sociology of Rural Development. His main research areas are social change, consumption behaviour and lifestyle change in Italy and other European countries, leisure research, migration studies. He is a member of the Board of Research Committee 13, Sociology of Leisure, of the International Sociological Association and member of the RN 05 Sociology of Consumption, and RN21, Quantitative Method of the European Sociological Association.

Inhalt

Introduction (Paolo Corvo).- Part I. General Themes.- The Conceptions of Wellness, Quality of Life and Well-Being in Social Sciences: A Literature Review (Marco Ciziceno).- Sports Participation and Quality of Life: Evidence from EU Microdata (Maurizio Esposito, Ciprian Panzaru).- Conceptual and Operational Problems in Monitoring Participation in Sports (Antonio Mussino).- Football (Bruno Barba).- Atalanta, a Contemporary Myth that Challenges the Big Football Clubs (Bruno Barba, Paolo Corvo).- Part II. Italian Cases.- Urban Sport Population: How the Sporting Habits of Italians have Changed (Fabio Massimo Lo Verde).- Who it Comes from the New Question of well-being in Italy? Practitioners of Sport and Physical Activity (S. Martelli e G. Russo).- Authenticity as Element of Connotation in Sport Tourism Activity: Some Empirical Elements from the Italian Arena (Nico Bortoletto).- Part III. International Perspective.- Social Representations of Physical Disability in Professional Environments (Bernardeau-Moreau Denis).- Socio-economic Insecurity, Gender Inequalities and Socio-spatial Segregation: A Case Study on Physical Education Habits in Higher Education Students of the Opal Coast Littoral (France) ( Alessandro Porrovecchio, Gabriele Di Francesco).- Physical and Sports Activities Diagnosis in Brazil: Methodology to Support Policies to Improve the Population's Quality of Life (Ailton Fernando Santana de Oliveira).- Part IV. Physical Activity and Quality of Life.- Social Fitness and Gamification: The Impact on Body Health and Physical Activity (Loredana Tallarita).- The Running Enemy: Jogging at the Time of Covid-19 pandemic (Michele Fontefrancesco).- Aging and Quality of Life in the Elderly. The Role of Physical Activity (Ivana Matteucci).- Retirement Time: Between Rupture and Continuity of the Habits of Life (Simona Di Mare, Philippe Masson).- Physical Activity as a Daily Practice. "Active ageing" Between the Need for Social Relations and Improving of Living Standards (Luca Benvenga, Elisabetta Trinca).