Benefícios da ginástica para todos para a saúde: uma revisão da literatura

Abstract

The Gymnastic For All is a demonstration gymnastic modality which has an inclusive character, doesn’t have any competitive purposes and combines several interpretations of gymnastics with other forms of body expressions, such as dances, circus activities, performing arts, games, sports and more. The practice of GFA’s based on four assumptions: Fun, Fitness, Fundamentals and Friendship and has the goal to contribute to improve health, physical condition and physical, social, intellectual and psychological well-being of its athlete. Certain characteristics suggest GFA’s potential to promote health for the population, in general. Aiming to understand and to systemize the knowledge that’s being made about this theme, this study has the purpose to review some materials about the benefits of GFA to the ones that practice it. The data researches were carried out in the following databases: SciELO, Lilacs, Google Scholar, Periódicos Capes and Catálogo de Teses and Dissertações CAPES, using descriptors and its combinations in portuguese and english, like "health", “qualitify of life”, “well-being”. Published studies, in portuguese or english, that were included analyze the benefits for the health, the qualitify of life and/or well- being of GFA’s athletes. The periods of the publications were not delimited. The ones that were foun were critically written. The research discovered 82 documents (articles, dissertations and theses). After reading the titles and abstracts, 74 of them were discarded and 8 of them (7 articles and 1 dissertation) were selected to be a part of this review. It was observed that Gymnastics For All promotes the development of mental aspects (reduction of stress, improvement of emotional well- being, prevention of depression), physical (increase in muscle strength, flexibility, endurance, power and improvement in cardiovascular parameters) and social (socialization among practitioners, increased self-esteem, self-confidence, affective bond and community). Given the above, the importance of encouraging and promoting the practice of Gymnastics For All is notorious, given the benefits that this modality presents for the health and quality of life of practitioners.