How Do You Move? Everyday stories of physical activity

Stories can be a powerful method of exploring complexity, and the factors affecting everyday physical activity within a modern urban setting are nothing if not complex.

The first part of our How Do You Move? study focused on the communication of physical activity guidelines to under-served communities. A key finding was that adults especially wanted physical activity messages to come from ‘everyday people, people like us’. This finding also reflects a wider move to use more relatable imagery in health promotion campaigns.

Using a portrait vignette approach to create monologues, we set out to explore the experiences of people from diverse backgrounds living in Bristol, all of whom took part in varied leisure time physical activities but would also be considered to lead ‘normal’ lives.

We aim to demonstrate that stories of such ‘experts by experience’ can contribute to how physical activity is perceived and elucidate the complex interplay of barriers and enablers in everyday experiences of physical activity.