A essencialidade das academias de ginástica para a saúde diante da pandemia da COVID-19 no Brasil

In May 2020, by presidential decree, gym centers were included in the list of essential activities. Although many states and municipalities did not adopt the presidential decree, it provided pressures in favor of the reopening. In the present study, we discuss the essentiality of these services and propose elements to guide this decision, based on a succinct analysis of benefits and risks from an individual and collective perspective through exploratory methods. The evidence on the various positive effects of physical activity on health is robust, which would allow us to assume the importance of reopening fitness centers. However, there are distinctions between short and long term benefits and risks related to chronic diseases and COVID-19 that allow us to affirm that physical activities at home are more appropriate for this moment of the pandemic in which there is an increasing number of infected and deaths.