Being a docile body: the effects on preadolescents of the social restrictions imposed during COVID-19

ABSTRACT During the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, school activities in Italy have been provided through distance learning, with a consequent impact on the body of the students and their physical activity habits. The aim of this paper was to investigate the impact of a programme to sensibilize preadolescents towards the adoption of active lifestyles and to ‘activate’ the body to counteract the negative effects of lockdown. The sample was composed of 160 secondary school scholars. The intervention was conducted online; it comprised daily steps count with pedometers, motivational speeches and classes promoting tools for active lifestyles. The levels of physical activity, the perception of the impact of lockdown and the changes in terms of active lifestyle habits were assessed pre- and post-intervention. Effects on scholars’ lifestyles were investigated by focus groups. Before the intervention, scholars reported low levels of physical activity that has been increased through the intervention. Focus groups showed that scholars who were physically active positively coped with the negative effects of the lockdown. The results suggested that school activities should be refocused on the individual body for reconstructing the psychophysical well-being and limiting the marks left by the creation of docile bodies due to social restrictions.