HEALTH & FITNESS


EU court could define obesity as a disability


Te European Court of Justice is consider- ing a test case which could oblige employers to treat obesity as a disability, potentially leaving them with a duty to make adjust- ments to work environments. Denmark has asked the court to rule on


the case of childminder Karsten Kaltoſt, who claims he was sacked for being too fat. If the ruling deems that obesity is in


fact a disability, employers could face new obligations to cater for employees, with the final ruling applying to all EU countries. Te case could be extremely pertinent


in places such as the UK, where obe- sity levels have increased in recent years. Details: http://lei.sr?a=T9Z7w


Disney to boost kids’ activity levels


Change4Life and Disney have partnered up to launch a new campaign to encourage chil- dren to meet the minimum recommendations of taking 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise every day. The ‘10 Minute Shake


Up’ scheme will look to get children to do a few extra 10-minute bursts of exercise each day, to get the country moving for an additional 100 million minutes this summer. Disney is to use its char-


acters, which will feature alongside recognisable Change4Life animations, to create content for schools across TV, print and online media. Tere will also be a focus on face-to-face


Te scheme encourages children to do extra 10-minute bursts of exercise


events with the aim of inspiring children to do a number of extra 10 minute activities each day. Disney has conducted research finding that


over three quarters of mums claimed being active and physically fit should be fun, while over half said they wanted access to more resources to make healthy living easier. “Change4Life has worked successfully with


Only 25 per cent reached recommended levels


People overestimating how hard they workout: study


Gymgoers could be overestimating how hard they actually workout, leading them to poten- tially fall foul of governmental guidelines on physical activity (PA), according to research published by the Public Library of Science. Exercise guidelines worldwide suggest


exercise can be undertaken in moderate or vigorous workouts to obtain health bene- fits, however, little research has been done on what people believe moderate exercise actually feels like. To test whether people understand exercise in action, researchers at York University in Canada put together a scheme featuring 129 sedentary adults aged 18 to 64, to find out what they knew about levels and measures of exercise. Participants were told of recommended


exercise guidelines and asked to use a tread- mill, allowing researchers to record the participants moving from levels of exer- cise they deemed to be light, moderate and vigorous. Results showed only a few people maintained a heart rate above 65 per cent of their resting rate to obtain health bene- fits, when they were supposedly exercising moderately. Details: http://lei.sr?a=H4v6n


4 ukactive to restructure board in its review


ukactive has announced it is entering into a formal review as it bids to refine governance structure and deliver on key objectives, including aligning the physical activity sector in a strong position for future growth. The move continues the body’s


repositioning from health and fitness representative to wider physical activ- ity advocate – something that began 18 months ago with the name change, having previously been known as the Fitness Industry Association (FIA). Management expert Portas


Consulting has already started work on the evaluation, which will also serve to ensure ukactive is in step with the published best-practice and good governance standards for non-profit organisations. Te findings are expected be presented to the ukac- tive board in September, while an oversight committee – comprising ukactive CEO David Stalker, board members Phil Rumbelow, CEO Jubilee Hall Trust, and ESPH CEO Max Sharp, with Sporta CEO Brian Leonard acting as the independent committee member – will work with Portas and scrutinise the methodology.


Read Leisure Opportunities online: www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/digital CEO David Stalker will be on the review oversight committee Te governance review follows agreement by


the current board in March that a new admin- istration is required, featuring a streamlined membership of between eight and 12, a wider range of specialist knowledge, networks and experience, and 25 per cent female mem- bers. “We’ve undergone a repositioning in the last 18 months that is not yet reflected in the composition of our board,” said Stalker. Details: http://lei.sr?a=x9e3H


Twitter: @leisureopps © CYBERTREK 2014


a number of partners over the past five years and we are particularly delighted to be work- ing alongside Disney on this campaign,” said Dr Ann Hoskins, director for children, young people and families at Public Health England. Te campaign – partly aimed at helping


parents keep kids moving during the school holidays – is to run for six weeks from 15 July, with schools encouraged to apply for activ- ity packs now. Details: http://lei.sr?a=M5V2q


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