TALKBACK


Kath Hudson • Journalist • Health Club Management EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT . . .


The medical message O


ver the past few years, the health and fi tness industry has been courting


the medical profession, focusing heavily on the many health benefi ts of exercise in a bid to establish the credibility of ‘exercise is medicine’. But although it’s undeniably important


to shout about these benefi ts, is this actually a compelling message for the general public to hear on a day-to-day basis? Will the possibility of lengthening their lives by fi ve years, or avoiding potential heart disease in 20 years’ time, be enough to make people commit to regular gym visits today? Or does it just add ‘getting fi t’ to the list of things they have to do at some point, once they’ve fi nished a big work project, had a baby,


Is ‘exercise is medicine’ an appealing message for the general public, or is it more geared


towards doctors? Do we need to change our tone in order to engage with the masses?


or got past whatever life challenge is currently consuming them? For those who just can’t quit smoking,


or who reach for a bottle of wine and a bag of crisps before their trainers, is the incessant health message making them bury their head further in the sand? Do we need a two-pronged approach, with a medical focus for the medics and a less prescriptive tone for the public? As Michelle Segar of the University of Michigan says, modern life is hectic and


Do we need to focus on more tangible,


instant benefi ts rather than long-term health – for example, being able to cope better with tomorrow’s stresses if they go to the gym today? Are our messages too long-term? Too


medicalised? What should we be saying, and how can we run two campaigns concurrently so we appeal both to the medics and those motivated by ‘exercise is medicine’, as well as those who just want to lose a few pounds? We ask the experts....


IS MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY A COMPELLING MESSAGE FOR CONSUMERS? EMAIL US: HEALTHCLUB@LEISUREMEDIA.COM


MICHELLE SEGAR University of Michigan • Associate director


“L


ong-term health benefits are motivating to one population,


and we don’t want to alienate them, but they’ve already bought in to exercise. The vast majority are not motivated by this, so we should move away from prescribing exercise as medicine to showing how exercise can help them better fulfil their daily roles. The public health message is very paternalistic: do this


because it’s good for you. Telling children to eat vegetables because they’re good for them doesn’t work, so why haven’t we learned to change the message? The fitness industry needs to look at great marketeers –


Apple, for example – and see how they are speaking to people. Rather than giving everyone the same message, your audience must be segmented. For example, you might be able to sell exercise to a mother by explaining how it will make her a more energetic, patient and engaged mum. Although future outcomes might be a key motivator to


embark on a regime, they can’t keep exercise a priority on a day-to-day basis. Disease prevention might be too logical as a motivator – not emotional enough. We need to tap into feelings and move from long-term outcomes to smaller goals, such as being less stressed and feeling proud of yourself after exercise.


DAVE STALKER ukactive • CEO


our sector and the UK as a whole. GPs are at the frontline of care and, as such, are trusted by the general public, so we need to work with them and share our expertise. The tone of our messaging is shifting away from just pushing


“S


the health benefits of physical activity to explaining the dangers of inactivity. Inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor in mortality on a global basis, and this offers an easy marketing opportunity because the statistics and facts are there: 37,000 people in England die each year because they don’t do any exercise. I would like to see the whole sector focusing on the medical


aspect a little more in their marketing campaigns, and drawing attention to the fact that exercise has benefits for everyone. But of course fun, as well as fear, has an impact on the way


”


people engage with physical activity. ukactive is currently working with Judy Murray, Britain’s most successful ever tennis coach, to promote the role of the family in forming positive feelings towards activity. Teaching children different ways of engaging with activity and making it enjoyable will create memories and habits that will still have resonance in later life and, as such, hopefully help them avoid the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle.


” 32 Read Health Club Management online at healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital February 2014 © Cybertrek 2014


hifting the focus onto the dangers of inactivity is important both for


many decisions we make are automatic, led by emotions rather than logic. So how do we make exercise an automatic decision? For someone who’s exhausted after a stressful day, how can we make them choose to go to the gym rather than fl opping on the sofa?


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