Monday, February 25, 2013

Can fitness drive community health?

The definition of 'can' is to be able to; have the ability, power or skill to; to know how to; to have the power or means to; to have the right or qualifications to to have permission to ... 

So to the question of 'can' fitness drive community health the answer must be a resounding yes.

Take a step back though and a bigger picture emerges, that despite the ability and power of fitness to change lives for the better, in order for fitness to drive community health there are a few things that need to happen to actually make it so.

Yesterday I had the enormous privilege of participating in a panel discussion on this very question.  In remote far north queensland the CEO of Fitness Australia, Lauretta Stace, and 7 other supportive industry professionals came together in front of an audience of roughly 100 to discuss this topic.  What emerged from the discussion was for me a clearer understanding of the bigger picture, and a great sense of the desire across the board in the fitness industry to participate in a more cooperative manner both amongst ourselves and with allied health professionals and other industry bodies to make positive change to community health.

The key distressing factor about our community health is that less than 20% of the population are participating in fitness services.  In a community where lifestyle diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and depression are on the rise, the primary preventative measure for these diseases is being used as a management tool by only 20% of the population.  More than 60% of the population is obese ... the first step in moving towards the onset of one of these diseases.  

Point 1 - fitness services are not yet connecting with the individuals in the community that really need them.

What concerned me next about the discussion was a general fear that our qualifications are inadequate.  As I listened to the discussion move a little off topic for a moment I heard  industry professionals, my peers and colleagues, express their own fears that the qualifications that are being awarded that enable fitness professionals to positive change lives are not perceived as professional by allied health professionals and therefore limit our capacity to change.

Point 2 - fitness professionals are having a crisis of confidence

And the final key point for me was that within this community of concerned professionals coming together to create positive change in the community was the very real belief and concern that government and legislation had an enormous role to play to support the work of both fitness professionals and allied health professionals.  Citing the recent cutting of more 200 jobs in the health services in far north Queensland and the slashing of funding from programs such as Steady Steps, which deliver positive results for our ageing population in improving their stability and mobility, the panel unanimously agreed that there is a very great need for the fitness industry to come together to build a body of evidence that supports the claim that fitness can take a large burden off the public health system.  It is imperative that we show the evidence that can in turn be used to lobby government for more, and more consistent, support of what the industry is doing.

Point 3 - fitness leaders must collect their evidence and come together to tell a compelling story of change which cannot be ignored by the leaders of our country.

For me, I will continue to think globally and act locally and as a personal trainer recognise that my power today lies in my capacity to create positive change for my clients.  My 3 key points will focus on how I interact with my clients today.

I will change the emotional state of my client so they leave me feeling happier.

I will empower my client to take control of their own wellness by teaching them the movement tools to do this.

I will create opportunities for my client to feel successful during their workout so that they will celebrate the experience, seek to repeat it, and invite their friends to come too.

For me personally fitness has delivered the most positive changes I could imagine - empowering me to eliminate potentially life threatening behaviours, creating opportunity for a more rewarding career path and placing me within a circle of like minded people who lift each other to a higher place every time we meet.

Can fitness drive community health?  Absolutely.  Buckle up though people ... this is kinda like wadi bashing .... a tonne of fun, but it's going to take a team of strong people working together to keep moving forward when things get stuck in the sand ....




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