Beyond individual responsibility: Rethinking physical activity and inactivity through lived experience

This study examines conceptualisations of physical activity and inactivity beyond dominant medical discourse by analysing the lived experience of participation in a Bed Rest study. Drawing on phenomenology, it builds on Merleau-Ponty's notion of embodied experience and Drew Leder's concept of the absent body. The study employs an analytical concept of partial absence of movement, emphasising lived experience and the ongoing relationship between activity and inactivity. Retrospective semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants (n = 8) after they participated in the Bed Rest study. Key findings reveal three characteristics of experiencing partial absence of movement: (1) the situational and processual character of partial absence of movement; (2) the rapid routinisation of partial absence of movement through distraction; and (3) the situational variability of experience of partial absence of movement under institutional conditions. Viewing reduced movement through the lens of partial absence of movement provides a more nuanced understanding of physical inactivity (PI) as a situational, processual and relational phenomenon within social contexts. Highlighting PI and physical activity (PA) as interconnected dimensions of embodied experience rather than entirely separate categories suggests that PI and PA should be understood not only in terms of individual health-related categories, but also through their embodied dimensions within everyday life.