Ideologia healthismu jako fons et origo mody na bieganie

Abstract

This article concerns the contemporary fad for running and its connection with the ideology of healthism, which consists in a concentration on health as the sine qua non condition for individual well-being, and the assumption that health can be assured by proper lifestyle. In accordance with the ideas of Robert Crawford, the ideology of healthism is linked with the medicalization of society and is especially attractive to members of the middle class. The author attempts an empirical verification—in regard to Polish conditions—of the connection between healthism and the popularity of running. The author utilizes the findings of his own survey research in the years 2013–2016 among participants of the annual marathon in Łódź. The findings confirm that healthism could be one of the sources of the vogue for running, as is shown by: the pro-health motivations of the runners; their popular conviction that individuals can influence their own health; and their belief that health is one of two primary life values (alongside family happiness). In correspondence with Crawford’s theory, it is chiefly members of the Polish middle class who engage in running.