Physical Activity on Prescription (PAP) has been utilized in several countries

since the 1990s. In recent years, the method has begun to be implemented for

children in Sweden. Organized sports represent one of the "deliverers" to which

a client can turn based on the prescription. However, there is a need to examine

whether organized sports are the appropriate avenue for this target group,

considering their physical inactivity and lack of previous engagement in sports.

The aim of this study was to explore how children prescribed physical activity

perceive sports as a means to become more physically active. This

encompasses a focus on how they construct an understanding of their bodies

in relation to activities socioculturally conceptualized as sports. The study is

grounded in the notion of the body's double nature as object and subject and the

idea of movement as sociocultural communication.

Participants aged 7–15 years were recruited from health clinics in Västra

Götaland, Sweden. Qualitative data were generated through a longitudinal

interview study, where six participants were interviewed on two occasions with

a four-to-six-month interval. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic

analysis.

Children constructed an understanding of physical activity in the form of sports

based on instrumentality (health benefits) rather than intrinsic motivators (e.g.,

enjoyment) throughout the PAP process. Finding an environment where one can

be accepted based on physical competence was fundamental. The desire for

change—either from the "deliverer" (sports clubs etc.) or the individual child—

emerges as central for sports to become “medicine” for children.