Elite Sport cash won’t solve obesity epidemic

By: Professor Rochelle Eime and Professor Hans Westerbeek

The International Olympic Committee advocates that the Olympic Games can heal the world; as long as we emulate our heroes and get active we can avoid the ‘other’ pandemic - obesity. Or can we? 

There is some evidence that watching the Olympic Games leads to an increase in participation in some sports. However, as reported in The Lancet, there is no evidence of improved population-wide physical activity. 

The authors note that the Olympic Games are an unrealised opportunity to improve global health, yet Australians did not improve their physical activity levels following the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. So, what can we learn between now and 2032?  

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the ugly side of sport ‘show’ business from a number of perspectives. The failed attempts of setting up a European Super League showed the complete disregard by the owners and managers of Europe’s top football clubs for the challenges that most of the world’s population continue to face. For a long time, the Indian Premier League (cricket) continued to operate, with players traveling to competition sites in full body isolation suits, while India was setting world record infection rates. The Tokyo Olympic Games are proving to be business as unusual, but the sport show business must go on… 

There are reasons why professional sport is increasingly disconnected from its community roots. Sport policy in most developed and some developing nations has continued to focus on competitive club-based sport and elite (event) performance and in line with this, talent development pathways dominate the structures of community sport organisations. 

However, market segmentation research highlights that participation in club-based sport is not of interest to many children and adults. Other research also demonstrates that females, older adults, those who are married, or those who have a disability are also less likely to play sport. Participation in (organised) sport in a way, is merely a window into the realm of a physically active lifestyle. Rather than developing policies that incentivise sport governing bodies to focus on participation numbers annually, there needs to be a shift towards retention of participants and include a more lifespan (cradle to grave) and lifestyle approach. 

Competitive sport is not for everybody, and some sports are harder to master than others. However, watching sport at the elite level and participating in sport from a young age presents significant opportunities to highlight and communicate the benefits of a physically active lifestyle. That is where the Olympics, the Indian Premier League and football competitions can play a critical role. 

In a way, the sport ‘show’ business managers should start to appreciate the changing social and policy context in which sport is produced, delivered, and consumed. Not elite sport, but community sport is foundational in a new integrated framework developed at Victoria University and Federation University that incorporates participation in sport with participation in leisure-time physical activity more broadly. 

The model is population-based, a “whole of sport ecosystem” lifespan model advocating that policy needs to focus on maximizing individuals' opportunities to develop a good level of physical literacy during childhood, as a foundation for lifelong activity. 

For sport organisations, and the organisers of mega-events such as the Olympic Games, the opportunities are obvious. A larger pool of potential participants will become available when levels of skill mastery and movement confidence increase. Sport governing bodies and sport clubs have to become smarter and more strategic in their marketing and service offering focus, in that there is clear evidence of transition points during the early life-stages about the type of sport offerings participants want, and how this affects the extent and duration of their participation. 

These stages are early childhood, primary age, secondary age, adult, and elderly. Each of these stages requires policy makers and strategies to focus on what is most likely to bring or keep people involved in sport. Underpinning the model is a lifelong commitment to developing and maintaining a high level of physical literacy, which, in turn, would positively impact the likelihood of people becoming and remaining physically active.

Ultimately, elite sport organisations will reap the benefits of recruiting talented athletes. But sport ‘show’ business owners and managers – be aware…! Your competitions exist by the virtue of a vibrant and healthy community sport system. 

Watching the Olympic Games is not going to solve the obesity pandemic. Hosting the Games in Brisbane is not going to lead to increased physical activity levels. But participation in Parkrun, cycling to work, going to the gym or playing sport at your local club will. If a couple of billion dollars dedicated to hosting the Olympic Games could be allocated to a national sport and physical activity public health strategy, the wellbeing and economic returns would reap the ultimate gold for all Australians.