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

During the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic school activities in Italy have been provided as 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 program to sensibilize preadolescents toward the adoption of active lifestyles and to “activate” the body to counteract the negative effects of lockdown. The sample was composed by 160 scholars attending an Italian secondary school. The intervention was conducted online; it comprised daily steps monitoring, motivational speeches, 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’ lifestyle were investigated via focus groups. Before the intervention scholars reported low levels of physical activity that have been increased through the intervention. Focus-groups showed that scholars who were physically active positively coped with the negative effects of the lockdown. Results suggested that school activities should be refocused on the individual body with the view to reconstructing the psychophysical wellbeing and limiting the marks left by the creation of docile bodies due to social restrictions.