La prevention en sante, l'activite physique et l'apparence corporelle chez des ainees de differents milieux socioeconomiques

This study bears with physical activity (PA) and bodily appearance (BA) of older women from contrasting socioeconomic milieus. The research examines how biological and social living conditions shape women's relation to PA and BA in the context of aging. Through this qualitative and empirical investigation, the research objective consists in furthering the understanding of (a) social norms and values of older women's relation to their bodies and (b) their conceptions of health prevention, PA and BA. The analysis relies on Pierre Bourdieu's (1984, 1998) socio-cultural theory of practice and on Michael Bury's (1982, 1991) concept of 'biographical disruption' to understand the structuring effects of both biological and social living conditions on conceptions and dispositions towards PA and BA.;This study is part of a larger study entitled: 'Older women, physical activity and health' which has received support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Overall, 122 interviews were made with older women from different sociocultural groups of francophone women aged between 65 and 75 year old. The present research draws on a sub-sample of 39 older women from disadvantaged neighbourhoods and 12 older women from privileged neighbourhoods of Montreal. This qualitative study privileged the use of semi-directed interviews.;Health and BA constitute two major concerns with regards to aging women. To understand the effects of social and biological living conditions on PA and BA, three distinct studies were undertaken. The aim of the first study was to further the understanding of processes underlying preventive health and PA practices of older women in contrasting living conditions. This study demonstrates how biological and social aging engender changes in health and PA practices. A striking finding was that although dispositions differed greatly between the two milieus during youth and adulthood, they tended to be more alike in the later phase of the lifecourse. The second study aim is to explore and deepen the understanding of the relations to BA through the narratives of older women in contrasting living conditions. Results highlight social differentiation between the two groups engendered by economic and cultural capital, and show that older women share a relation to BA due to an embodiment of aging. The last study aims at understanding to what extent old age, as 'rupturing events', has consequences on the adoption of PA practices. The analysis reveals that aging brought a rise of consciousness of the finitude of the body, which engenders a heightened concern for secondary preventive health practices, such as PA; this rise in consciousness was a 'rupturing event' in their life trajectories.