a leap forward and get involved in this bigger picture of physical activity. And the time is right now, Kohl


stressed. We must take advantage of doors currently – and perhaps temporarily – left ajar for us to prove our worth in this fi eld. To do that, we must engage the physical inactivity industry – not just fast food, but any companies whose products encourage sedentary behaviour – and try to make them part of the solution, making physical activity a priority. We must partner to develop training and certifi cation programmes in physical activity for public health (PAPH) – a population-based approach, equipping professionals to work with the entire population rather than in small groups or one-on-one in a club. We must nurture the global growth in science and the practice of PAPH, partnering with universities to research this area. And we must advocate physical activity for health using the Toronto Charter as a framework – a global call to action for a population-based approach to activity that was launched last year, whereby the active choice becomes the easy choice. Ultimately our focus must shift beyond


gym-based exercise to embrace public health and encompass all types of activity.


“The credibility of the whole sector can be grown if we do this. We need to be leaders in this fi eld, genuinely getting more people – a whole population – more active, more often,” concluded Kohl.


an inclusive approach David Stalker, executive director of the FIA, echoed the need to embrace all channels that can help get more people more active. Many of the trade associations represented at the Summit – 18 of the 27 EU member states now have a national fitness body affiliated to EHFA – currently work exclusively with


january 2010 © cybertrek 2010


the private sector, but Stalker was clear in his message: “You create a rod for your own back if you only represent the private sector. Our vision is ‘more people, more active, more often’, so anyone who’s doing something to safely and properly get people fitter and more active can join the FIA – outdoor, private, public operators. If we want to become a true government delivery partner, we have to represent 100 per cent of the sector.” Professor Alfonso Jimenez, chair


of the EHFA Standards Council, also agreed with Kohl’s recommendation to expand our offering and used the analogy of a market stall selling fruit.


“We can’t expect to attract new people and grow penetration levels with our existing offering,” he stressed. “At the moment, we’re just selling apples, but to bring in new people we need to sell melons, pears, oranges. And the opportunity is right now, not in 10 years’ time. People are expecting something very special from us, and we need to combine our traditional skills with creativity and innovation to deliver it.”


gathering data Jimenez continued: “We also need data to prove the exact impact of what we’re delivering, including the combined impact of our exercise programming in conjunction with other physical activity.” This need for data was reinforced by


Jacob Kornbeck, director general of the EAC Sports Unit at the EU Commission. The Lisbon Treaty gave the EU the power to legislate in the area of sport, but these new powers arrived at the same time as the recession – a climate in which, as Kornbeck explained, “it’s hard to get funding for new initiatives”. He continued: “There should be funding for HEPA in the future, but we will need


The fitness sector must embrace opportunities beyond the gym walls to get more people active


good evidence – health economic data – to justify it. We must defend the need for a robust EU Sport Programme.” Projects such as EHFA’s ‘Becoming


the Hub’ initiative may also help. An ongoing project analysing physical activity promotion across Europe – particularly government policies and national and local campaigns – it aims to identify best practice and recommend ways to improve the messaging and better utilise the fi tness sector. The full report will be presented to


the European Commission next month, but fi ndings already suggest a need for more targeted campaigns – many are too vague, with broad brushstroke messages missing their target altogether


– that offer individuals opportunities to become more active at a community level. Other fi ndings echo the observations of the Summit keynotes, but suggest we still have some way to go in delivering on their recommendations: physical activity promotions are currently not cross-sectoral, lacking integration with other policies or interventions; few have measurements built in to evaluate their success; and many still focus on public health only, without involving the private sector. We may already be making positive


strides towards delivering on the ‘health’ part of our sector’s ‘health and fi tness industry’ label, but it would seem there’s a lot more work to be done – and it needs to be done right now.


healthclub@leisuremedia.com kate cracknell


Read Health Club Management online at healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital 77


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