This paper presents a longitudinal narrative ethnography tracing the embodied experiences of Hippo, a young woman navigating clinical depression and a shifting relationship with physical activity over 6 years. Set against prevailing discourses that promote exercise-as-cure for mental illness, the paper does not seek to test efficacy, but to explore what movement does, emotionally, socially, and existentially, for someone living with chronic distress. Rather than offering generalisable claims or neat resolutions, this study privileges temporality, subjectivity, and storied complexity. Hippo’s journey unfolds not as a linear transformation, but through slow, recursive encounters with walking, swimming, running, and moments of stillness. Her initial curiosity about movement was sparked not by medical advice but by reading a running narrative. Over time, she experiments with exercise as a form of survival, not salvation. The story was co-constructed through diaries, unstructured interviews, conversational dialogue, fieldnotes, and collaborative storytelling. Grounded in storytelling and phenomenological sensibility, the paper argues that physical activity can foster a mode of ‘being-with’ depression rather than simply offering a route out. Hippo’s story highlights traits of slowness, coexistence, ambivalence, and embodied re-sensation, challenging dominant health narratives that assume movement leads to measurable recovery. In advocating for narrative as a method and as knowledge, this work contributes to growing calls for research that centres the lived, affective, and complex realities of those whose stories do not fit mainstream frameworks. It invites readers to understand movement not just as medicine, but as a mode of being with difficulty and of becoming.

Physical Education (PE) occupies a paradoxical position in China: constitutionally mandated yet persistently marginalised within a system that prioritises cognitive attainment and measurable academic outputs. This paper critically examines the ideological, cultural, and neoliberal forces underpinning this marginalisation, situating the Chinese case within broader global trends while attending to its distinct historical and philosophical contexts. We argue that its marginalisation is not a mere logistical failure but an onto-epistemological crisis rooted in a constellation of mutually reinforcing discourses. These include the enduring Chinese cultural hierarchy of ‘Zhong Wen Qing Wu’ (valuing the literary over the physical), which is amplified by the high-stakes Gaokao examination system; the influence of Western mind–body dualism, which devalues embodied knowing; and the ascendancy of a neoliberal utilitarianism that reduces education to market utility. Together, these forces create a destructive cycle that instrumentalises PE for narrow health metrics while stripping it of its broader humanistic value. Moving beyond critique, this paper proposes a strategy of ‘glocalisation’ as a robust path forward. We contend that a meaningful revaluation of PE requires a dialectical process: engaging with global scholarly turns toward embodiment while simultaneously reclaiming indigenous Chinese philosophical resources. Specifically, we articulate a framework grounded in Taoist concepts of the lived body (Shen), spontaneity (Ziran), and non-coercive action (Wuwei). The proposed framework displaces the dualistic, mechanical body with a processual, relational, and phenomenologically rich understanding of the lived body, offering a culturally resonant and philosophically robust basis for reimagining PE. By advancing this counter-ontology, the paper contributes to ongoing international debates on the epistemological status of PE and offers pathways for restoring its centrality in nurturing whole persons and fostering human flourishing.

This cross-sectional study examines how media pressure, feminist beliefs, and body image interact among well-educated young adult women in China, a demographic navigating a complex communication environment where globalized fit body ideals are reframed through state-led health media and consumerist social platforms. Data from 291 participants were analyzed using a moderated mediation model to test how feminist beliefs shape the pathway from perceived media pressure to body satisfaction. Findings revealed that the negative association between media pressure on body satisfaction was mediated by the internalization of both thin and fit ideals. However, feminist beliefs operated paradoxically: Stronger feminist identification heightened the cognitive internalization of media-promoted ideals yet conditionally buffered against their negative emotional impact. This protective effect dissipated at the highest levels of feminist beliefs. These results complicate the widely acknowledged view of feminism as a uniformly protective factor and highlight the cultural specificity of media influence in China’s hybrid communication ecology, where state biopower and neoliberal consumerism converge to shape women’s bodily self-understanding.

Elite athlete mothers are often positioned within competing cultural narratives: motherhood is framed as incompatible with high-performance sport, yet successful return-to-sport stories are frequently celebrated through ideals of the sporting ‘supermom’. This paper explores how motherhood is experienced by three Chinese Olympic medallists who returned to elite competition following childbirth within the Juguo Tizhi (Whole Nation System). Drawing on a feminist Foucauldian framework and narrative analysis, the paper examines how athlete-mother subjectivities are negotiated through disciplinary power, affective governance and technologies of the self within China’s state-sponsored sport system. The findings suggest that the maternal body becomes a site of bio-psycho-political tension, where postpartum embodiment, caregiving responsibilities and elite sporting demands converge. Participants’ narratives revealed how feelings of kuiqian (guilt and indebtedness) operated as a form of affective governance, transforming maternal separation and sacrifice into powerful motivations for continued athletic achievement. Simultaneously, motherhood functioned as a rupture that enabled athletes to renegotiate their relationships with sport, family and self, giving rise to processes of re-becoming and renewed forms of agency within, rather than outside, institutional power relations. The paper offers a culturally situated account of athlete motherhood and illustrates how maternal agency is continuously negotiated within a highly institutionalised sporting environment.

This study examined how female players engage with Honor of Kings (HOK), a mobile Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) game, focusing on the facilitating and inhibiting factors shaping their participation in this traditionally male-dominated domain. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 31 female players (aged 18–29). The analysis primarily focused on how social factors, attitudes, and perceived behavioral control influence their gaming experience in HOK. Additionally, thematic analysis was utilized to explore themes related to the experiences of female participation in HOK, societal perceptions of esports, gender biases, and online toxicity. The results indicate that HOK has successfully broadened female participation in esports through social media integration and esthetic appeal. However, traditional cultural norms and masculine gaming culture, manifested in gender discrimination and online harassment, significantly challenge women’s inclusive participation in the esports ecosystem. This study is the first to explore women’s experiences as primary players in mobile esports, providing fresh insights into gender dynamics in esports. The research expands understanding of the relationships between game design, social integration, and cultural barriers in esports participation.

Physical literacy is a unifying concept that encompasses the physical competence, knowledge and understanding, motivation and confidence for engagement in life-long physical activity. In this study, we conducted a random-effects meta-analysis with meta-regression to examine (a) whether existing interventions were effective in enhancing individual's physical literacy and physical activity engagement, and (b) which factors moderated effectiveness of the interventions. The protocol of the meta-analysis was pre-registered in PROSPERO (Ref: CRD42020213898) on November 22, 2020. Specifically, a comprehensive literature search was conducted, and studies that evaluated any controlled intervention aimed to enhance physical literacy were included. Studies using either randomized or non-randomized designs were included. Intervention effects pertaining to each physical literacy component and activity engagement were pooled using a meta-analytical approach. Using meta-regressions, we investigated if study effects were moderated by characteristics of the interventions. Of the 29 studies included in the analyses, interventions successfully increased: physical competence (k = 18, g = 0.57), knowledge and understanding (k = 13, g = 0.55), motivation and confidence (k = 12, g = 0.44), global physical literacy (k = 27, g = 0.52), and engagement in physical activity (k = 13, g = 0.14). Intervention effects were weaker in school or university settings compared to non-educational settings and a positive bias for studies with smaller samples was found. While these findings were robust, long-term effectiveness of interventions should be further examined, as most included studies only evaluated short-term effects. Systematic approaches for the design and reporting of intervention components are also needed to help researchers design effective and scalable interventions in the future.

The fitness body ideal, disseminated through the culture of fitspiration on social media, is frequently framed as a symbol of health, empowerment, and self-discipline. However, its implications warrant critical scrutiny due to its deep entanglement with body dissatisfaction and psychological distress. Unlike the thin ideal, historically linked to patriarchal oppression through Michel Foucault’s concept of the disciplinary society, the fit ideal introduces a more complex paradox. It simultaneously embodies elements of self-sexualisation and objectification while intertwining ostensibly positive discourses of strength, agency, and self-care with hidden mechanisms of control. This theoretical analysis explores how the fit ideal extends beyond the disciplinary mechanisms of the thin ideal, occupying a dual role that merges empowerment narratives with the pressures of self-optimisation. Through Byung-Chul Han’s conceptualisations of the achievement society and psychopolitics, this paper examines how the ideal of self-improvement fosters self-surveillance, body dissatisfaction, and self-exploitation. The neoliberal logic of self-optimisation, embedded in fitness culture, constructs the body as an ongoing project of enhancement, where failure to maintain the fit ideal becomes an internalised moral shortcoming. This relentless pursuit of bodily perfection may lead to cycles of exhaustion, anxiety, and, ultimately, burnout, as individuals strive to meet ever-escalating standards of self-discipline and productivity. Reclaiming the female body and embodied experiences necessitates a critical interrogation of these ideals and their intersections with neoliberal selfhood, consumer culture, and the commodification of feminism. By interrogating the power dynamics that sustain these ideals, this analysis offers a nuanced understanding of how contemporary fitness culture simultaneously engages feminist empowerment discourses while reinforcing the relentless pursuit of self-optimisation in the 21st century. Recognising and challenging these structures is essential to disrupting the insidious forms of control that masquerade as agency and empowerment.

This paper critiques dominant Western paradigms in sport and wellbeing, which often instrumentalise the body through optimisation logics. It posits ancient Chinese bodily philosophy, grounded in Taoist cosmology and an embodied ontology, as a vital alternative. This tradition views the body not as a separate entity but as a relational process inseparable from the cosmos (Tao), realised through ecological attunement and lived experience. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Qi Gong serve as practical expressions, cultivating holistic well-being through internal integrity, ecological embeddedness, and social synchrony. Resonating with contemporary posthumanism and body ecology, this perspective advocates shifting focus from performance metrics towards harmony, ethical responsiveness, and cosmological participation, offering resources for reimagining embodiment amidst planetary and spiritual crises. Cet article critique les paradigmes occidentaux dominants dans le sport et le bien-être, qui instrumentalisent souvent le corps via des logiques d'optimisation. Il avance la philosophie corporelle chinoise ancienne, ancrée dans la cosmologie taoïste et une ontologie incarnée, comme une alternative essentielle. Cette tradition conçoit le corps non comme une entité séparée mais comme un processus relationnel inséparable du cosmos (Tao), réalisé par l'accord écologique et l'expérience vécue. La Médecine Traditionnelle Chinoise (MTC) et le Qi Gong en sont des expressions pratiques, cultivant un bien-être holistique par l'intégrité interne, l'ancrage écologique et la synchronie sociale. En résonance avec le posthumanisme contemporain et l'écologie corporelle, cette perspective préconise de déplacer l'accent des indicateurs de performance vers l'harmonie, la responsivité éthique et la participation cosmologique. Elle offre ainsi des ressources pour réimaginer l'expérience incarnée face aux crises planétaires et spirituelles.

Background The high prevalence of unhealthy movement behaviors among young children remains a global public health issue. eHealth is considered a cost-effective approach that holds great promise for enhancing health and related behaviors. However, previous research on eHealth interventions aimed at promoting behavior change has primarily focused on adolescents and adults, leaving a limited body of evidence specifically pertaining to preschoolers. Objective This review aims to examine the effectiveness of eHealth interventions in promoting 24-hour movement behaviors, specifically focusing on improving physical activity (PA) and sleep duration and reducing sedentary behavior among preschoolers. In addition, we assessed the moderating effects of various study characteristics on intervention effectiveness. Methods We searched 6 electronic databases (PubMed, Ovid, SPORTDiscus, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials) for experimental studies with a randomization procedure that examined the effectiveness of eHealth interventions on 24-hour movement behaviors among preschoolers aged 2 to 6 years in February 2023. The study outcomes included PA, sleep duration, and sedentary time. A meta-analysis was conducted to assess the pooled effect using a random-effects model, and subgroup analyses were conducted to explore the potential effects of moderating factors such as intervention duration, intervention type, and risk of bias (ROB). The included studies underwent a rigorous ROB assessment using the Cochrane ROB tool. Moreover, the certainty of evidence was evaluated using the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) assessment. Results Of the 7191 identified records, 19 (0.26%) were included in the systematic review. The meta-analysis comprised a sample of 2971 preschoolers, which was derived from 13 included studies. Compared with the control group, eHealth interventions significantly increased moderate to vigorous PA (Hedges g=0.16, 95% CI 0.03-0.30; P=.02) and total PA (Hedges g=0.37, 95% CI 0.02-0.72; P=.04). In addition, eHealth interventions significantly reduced sedentary time (Hedges g=−0.15, 95% CI −0.27 to −0.02; P=.02) and increased sleep duration (Hedges g=0.47, 95% CI 0.18-0.75; P=.002) immediately after the intervention. However, no significant moderating effects were observed for any of the variables assessed (P>.05). The quality of evidence was rated as “moderate” for moderate to vigorous intensity PA and sedentary time outcomes and “low” for sleep outcomes. Conclusions eHealth interventions may be a promising strategy to increase PA, improve sleep, and reduce sedentary time among preschoolers. To effectively promote healthy behaviors in early childhood, it is imperative for future studies to prioritize the development of rigorous comparative trials with larger sample sizes. In addition, researchers should thoroughly examine the effects of potential moderators. There is also a pressing need to comprehensively explore the long-term effects resulting from these interventions. Trial Registration: PROSPERO CRD42022365003; http://tinyurl.com/3nnfdwh3

Background Physical activity (PA) has many benefits in preventing diseases and maintaining physical and mental health. Women, in particular, can benefit from regular PA. However, women’s PA did not increase over the past decade globally, and the situations faced by women are often gender-specific. Healthy young adult women's PA does not receive as much attention as older women and adolescent girls, yet, they face the same situation of low level of PA. This review aims to explore and synthesise the self-identified barriers and facilitators to young adult women's participation in PA from qualitative research studies and offer suggestions for future studies and programs designed for this population. Methods A systematic search was conducted in Pubmed, Web of Science, Scopus, Medline, and SPORTDiscus for studies published between January 2000 to February 2022 to identify qualitative studies on the barriers and facilitators of young adult women’s PA between ages 18 to 40. The search yielded 694 studies initially, of which 23 were included. The research quality of included studies was appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) tool. Data were extracted and thematically analysed based on the tenets of the social-ecological model (SEM). Results Identified barriers and facilitators were grouped into different levels of the SEM, with the most frequently cited factors being time, body image and societal beauty standards, family duty and social support, religious and cultural norms, organisation and community facilities and environment, safety issues and physical environment. Descriptive data were thematically analysed and synthesised in line with the five levels: body image, health and beauty; multiple roles, support, and PA; religious identity, cultural identity, and PA; safety issues and women’s fears. Conclusions This qualitative synthesis revealed in-depth information on barriers and facilitators influencing young adult women’s PA. It highlighted that the factors young adult women face are diverse at different levels yet holistic and intertwined. Future studies on young adult women’s PA should address the social-cultural influence and would benefit from applying multilevel strategies employing the SEM model. It is critical to create an open and inclusive environment and offer more opportunities for women. Trial registration PROSPERO CRD42021290519.