Urbanization, lack of public areas, fear of violence and technological facilities that suppress the primary function of life, which is locomotion, have been causing what we can call "hypokinetic" diseases. Sedentariness is the most prevalent risk factor in the Brazilian population, much higher than other risk factors like smoking, arterial hypertension, obesity and alcoholism.
The need to adopt healthy living habits has been disseminated in society, as illustrated by the increased demand and attendance of sports facilities, public areas for physical activity, sports clubs and gyms. This reveals the emergence of a new area, which we should pay attention to, in order to identify and, mainly, identify this "new" client, who practices physical activity, and the athlete, who practices sports for professional or leisure purposes (1).
Even if we have not perceived this yet, this client is already part of nursing professionals' daily reality, as we routinely advise people who at least practice physical activity. We should reflect on this clientele and ask ourselves if we are prepared to offer this care, as these persons lack not only care, but mainly prevention of musculoskeletal injuries (1).
And what is self-care like? We need to reflect on health maintenance and the benefits of physical activity in terms of self-care.
Nursing students at the University of São Paulo (USP) are mainly young people, deeply involved in their joviality and, hence, physical productivity. They also display a great sense of initiative, a characteristic that joins and organizes other young people for the sake of sports activities in nursing.
These students' expression with respect to sports practice and physical activity gives rise to the question about these abilities directed at health promotion.