Health Club Management October 2011

editor’s letter

Subscriptions Denise Gildea +44 (0)1462 471930

Circulation Manager Michael Emmerson +44 (0)1462 471932

Editor

Kate Cracknell +44 (0)1462 471906

Editorial Director Liz Terry

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Assistant Editor Katie Barnes

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News Editor Tom Walker

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John Challinor +44 (0)1202 742968 Astrid Ros

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exercise is medicine

You don’t have to spend hours in the gym to get clear health benefits, according to a study published in The Lancet in August. Indeed, just 15 minutes’ activity a day can add three years to your life expectancy. The study, conducted in Taiwan, tracked 400,000 men and women

for an average of eight years. Based on weekly exercise routines, they were placed in one of five categories – inactive, low, medium, high or very high – with life expectancy calculated compared to the inactive group. Even those in the ‘low’ category – who exercised just 92 minutes a week, or 15 minutes a day for six days out of seven – were found to be significantly better off than the inactive group, with a 14 per cent reduced risk of all-cause mortality and an additional three years’ life expectancy. Their cancer mortality rate was 10 per cent lower and their risk of dying from cardiovascular disease 20 per cent lower. This held true across all age groups, both sexes, and even among those with cardiovascular disease risks. The study also backs up the latest UK activity guidelines which state that, while shorter bursts do reap

rewards, health benefits are directly proportional to the volume of exercise (intensity x duration) that we do, and that reaching higher activity levels will achieve further benefits (see HCM Aug 11, p3): in the Taiwanese study, every additional 15 minutes of daily exercise, beyond the minimum 15, further reduced all-cause mortality by 4 per cent and all-cancer mortality by 1 per cent. This ‘15 minutes a day’ preventative message

We may need to accept a sliding scale of ‘exercise is medicine’, from specialist facilities delivering ‘exercise as treatment’ through to ‘exercise as prevention’ – a compelling message for all operators

is one all operators can and should use – a compelling argument in favour of the basic offering available in all gyms, and a golden opportunity to negate once and for all the “don’t have time to exercise” plea. After all, who can’t find 15 minutes a day to reduce their risk of cancer? Weight loss might currently be

the top reason quoted for joining a gym, and it will no doubt continue to be significant, but we need to diversify our message, both to drive higher usage among members and to finally bring in non-gym goers. The onus is on us to give disease prevention an immediacy, as many people still fail to think sufficiently long-term about their health, but the opportunity is there to make exercise far less discretionary. But the value of physical activity is not limited to prevention; it also has a vital role to play in managing

existing conditions and improving survival rates (see diabetes and cancer features, p50 and p60). And with the latest World Cancer Research Fund data showing the number of new cancer cases worldwide to be 12 million a year, up 20 per cent in under a decade, there’s a strong argument in favour of doing more in this area. But can all operators really take this next step, or should we first focus on getting it right at a few select sites to prove our credibility? As Fausto di Giulio says (HCM Sept 11, p22): “If we fail to offer the right product, all of our efforts in co-operating with physicians will lead to a situation whereby we demonstrate the inadequacy of the fi tness industry to the very audience we’re trying to win over.” Rather than over-promising and under-delivering, we may have to accept that ‘exercise is medicine’ will

not yet be delivered consistently across the sector. A sliding scale may be required, ranging from ‘exercise as treatment’ – specialist facilities with the necessary skills, systems, culture, programmes and technology – through to ‘exercise as prevention’, which remains a highly compelling message for all operators.

Kate Cracknell, editor katecracknell@leisuremedia.com

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