#HASTALKS: Physical Activity, Health, and Incarceration: Complex Meanings of Sport and Physical Activity in Prisons

Mark Norman, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Health, Aging & Society at McMaster University, will examine the complex relationship between sport, physical activity, and health in prison settings. Globally, there are more than 10 million incarcerated people living in institutions that, often, are unhealthy spaces characterized by threats of physical violence, risk of communicable disease, poor diet and nutrition, and monotonous routines. Interestingly, these unhealthy spaces of confinement are often home to vibrant physical cultures through which prisoners produce a myriad of social meanings. While sport and physical activity can provide important physical and mental health benefits to some prisoners, they can also contribute to unhealthy outcomes, including physical violence and social exclusion. Dr. Norman will consider these complex meanings, and propose several ways in which sport and physical activity might play a role in improving prisoners’ health.