MEDICAL MATTERS

What do you want?

FIA Chief Medical Officer John Searle looks at goal setting The first question I ask a new client or

patient is, ‘Why have you come to see

me?’ Firstly it reminds me that my job is to work with the client to achieve their goals rather than mine. Secondly, it helps the client to think about the goals they want to achieve. Sometimes the answer is very specific, “I want to run a half marathon in six months time”. Often they are more general, “I want to get fit” or “I want to lose weight” or “I want to look good on my summer holiday”.

However, I also have a goal for every client about which I tell them - the day they say to me, “John, I don’t need to see you very much, now”. Does that sound like financial madness, encouraging clients eventually to see me perhaps only three or four times year? (Actually, of course it controls the flow of clients and keeps the number manageable.) The reason I do it is that my wish is for each client to take responsibility for their own health and fitness for the long term – indeed for the rest of their lives. It is great to set short and medium term goals. But do we see those goals as part of a much wider process of staying fit for always?

Viewing the people who seek our professional advice through this long-term lens is vital for their future health and well- being. We know that inactivity is the biggest single cause of ill health in the western world. The Chief Medical Officer for England has observed that the benefits of regular physical activity on health, longevity, and well-being easily surpass the effectiveness of any drugs on medical treatments. People who are physically active are at about half the risk of having a heart attack compared with those who are inactive. Similarly the risks of diabetes, obesity, colon cancer and osteoporosis are all reduced. Regular exercise is essential for our mental well-being, stress prevention, keeping our brains functioning well and enabling us to enjoy a healthy and independent old age – 30% of people over the age of 65 have a fall at some time and half of these have recurrent falls. Hip and wrist fractures are caused by falls and have huge implications for future independence and cost the NHS billions of pounds each year. Exercise reduces falls significantly in older people.

One of the exciting things about the fitness industry is that we have within it the knowledge and expertise to promote a healthy population. Running a half marathon or having a six pack are good, being fit and healthy for always is better. And if we do become ill, we will handle it much better.

www.exerciseregister.org LiveYoung1/4.indd 1

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