Strong, Beautiful and Modern

National Fitness in Britain, New Zealand, Australia and Canada, 1935-1960

By Charlotte Macdonald
Categories: History, World History, Canadian History, Political Science, Public & Social Policy, Canadian Political Science
Publisher: UBC Press
Hardcover : 9780774825283, 240 pages, January 2013
Paperback : 9780774825290, 240 pages, July 2013
Ebook (PDF) : 9780774825306, 240 pages, January 2013
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Table of contents

Introduction

1 Movement is Life: National Fitness in England and Scotland

2 Leisure and Democracy: Physical Welfare as the People’s
Entitlement in New Zealand

3 Education or Health? National Fitness in New South Wales and
Across Australia

4 Fitness for War and a Changed World: National Fitness in
Canada

5 Healthy Bodies, States and Modernity: A Twentieth-Century
Dilemma

Endnotes

Bibliography

Index

A lively and intriguing investigation into the politics of sport and
how national historical views on health and athleticism have shaped our
modern world.

Description

In the late 1930s and early 1940s, a wave of state-sponsored
“national fitness” programs swept Britain and its former
settler colonies. In Strong, Beautiful and Modern, Charlotte
Macdonald shows how governments encouraged citizens to be healthier and
more active, thereby reinforcing the cultural ties of the Empire. At a
time when government concern over public health issues such as
obesity are once again on the rise, Macdonald explains why the
first national fitness drive ultimately failed. This book is a lively
investigation into how people and governments think about their health
and well-being, and how those historical views have shaped our modern
life.

Awards

  • Short-listed, Ernest Scott Prize 2012
  • Winner, The Ian Wards Prize, Archives and Records Association of New Zealand (ARANZ) 2012