Are fitness general health questions on topic?

Question

This is coming from the question on active versus passive stretching.

From the help section on off topic -

• the rules of a sport
• a purchase recommendation
• nutrition unrelated to exercise, such as food safety, nutritional needs for children, etc.
• wellness, general health, medical advice and injuries unrelated to exercise

I believe it to fit into the last category, because there is no fitness program, goal or related question stated in the post. It is academic and interesting, but I am not sure it fits, and could open the door for other similar questions about general health, which have been pretty much universally off topic since shortly after the site launched 11 years ago.

For reference, some of the historical meta discussions on general health and similar:

Reviewing the site scope: balance between Fitness and Nutrition?

Are ergonomics on topic for fitness?

Where does Fitness stop and General Health start?

Off topic question - reason?

Answer 1

Flexibility training, yoga and similar are on topic, and indeed there are many questions already on the site around them.

My contention with the question in question (hah! :D) is that it is an academic question that can be answered unrelated to any actual training program. We allow nutrition questions in the context of a training program but not as standalone questions. We have had questions around wellness such as "My X is injured, how can I train while it heals without injuring it further" and similar. Those are on topic, but "My X is injured what do I do?" are not.

We allow questions about how to use fitness devices, again in the context of how to use them in a fitness program, but we don't allow questions about the devices themselves, such as how to program or similar.

I feel that under the current scope, there is not enough about the context of the reason for the question to keep it open.

Answer 2

My two cents is that flexibility training (thereunder stretching routines, including yoga) are natural exercises that contribute to, but are not synonymous with general health and wellness. I see it as something that fits into the same category as strength or endurance training.

For that reason, I submit that the question is on-topic, without opening the door to any and all general health and wellness questions.