Gesundheitsforderung in sportvereinen - Konzeptionelle grundlagen und erfahrungen mit dem projekt 'Gesund and Bewegt'

Although physical activity is considered to be a classical health behavior, sports science plays only a marginal role among Health Sciences. This article deals with the specifics of health promotion by sport which are seen in the special attractiveness of doing sport and in its capability to affect positively a broad range of health resources. A project was conducted (n=1015) to examine the possibilities of health promotion by sports under the specific conditions of sports clubs. Numerous positive effects on health resources could be demonstrated using a quasi-experimental waiting group design. A follow-up study six month after the courses showed that the idea to provide a new impetus by our project led to lasting changes in health behavior among the participants and to structural changes in the sports clubs. The global result of the evaluation is that doing sport in general and especially in sports clubs has properties, which make it a very well suited tool for the purposes of health promotion. This fact, along with the social attractiveness and widespread acceptance of sports, has possibly not yet been recognized sufficiently in the conception of health promotion programmes.