As America moves forward on its quest for better health, public policy will be a necessary part of the picture. When we consider the issue of obesity—one marker of health—which cuts across almost all geographic locations, age groups, and income brackets, the fitness industry has proven not to be enough on its own to combat the problem. We will need some bigger picture changes if we hope to really move the needle on the issue. The good news is personal fitness can and should be a powerful, inspiring, and motivating driver towards warming the public to a larger scale campaign against unnecessary excess body fat*.
Fitness Is Great, But Not Everything
The fitness industry in the U.S. has grown dramatically since the 1960s1, but obesity has also gone up over that time, according to figures released by the National Institute of Health. Professionals within the fitness industry, such as personal trainers and nutritionists, increasingly understand that this lack of progress must be combatted not only in the gym, but also through the relationship between lifestyle and health. William Dietz, M.D., Ph.D., an expert on obesity, and director of the Sumner M. Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., puts it succinctly: “To reverse the obesity epidemic, we must identify and begin to harness the drivers that got us to this point.” Those drivers are not simply about what we do with exercise, but also how we live in the society we have created. That will require a multi-sided campaign.
There is a precedent for such a campaign. Policy makers started an initiative in the 1960s to reduce the visibility and accessibility of tobacco while also increasing education about its negative effects.2 The result was a dramatic drop in smoking over the next several decades.3 Dr. Dietz feels that it is time to take the lessons learned from this success and apply them towards fighting obesity. “Now that smoking is lower, obesity is the next place to work. We know the negative health impacts it has and we need to look now at how we change the public environment to help people maintain a healthier body mass,” he says.
Where Fitness Meets Public Policy
The fitness industry can and should be a powerful and inspirational force behind such a policy program because it can make the prospect personal, immediate, and—most importantly—desirable. When people see the end benefits of something ahead of the perceived hardships, they are far more likely to do what it takes to get the result. Being healthy is something that just about everyone agrees upon. What we need is to highlight when good policy can lead to good personal outcomes, and then stress that.
Consider your own life for a moment. You know it is important to be as active as possible, and the steady rise of gym memberships suggests Americans as a whole understand this. But, gyms notwithstanding, it can be difficult to integrate more movement into your daily routine. Similarly, we know the importance of good nutrition, but keeping to a healthy diet rich in whole foods requires that those items be readily available. In situations such as these, it is easy to put the onus entirely on individuals, but the fact is that communities can help to make these lifestyle best practices more easily accomplished by finding ways to make them more accessible. For example, cycling options like bike shares, bicycling programs, and bike lanes are one way to increase daily opportunities to exercise, especially if such programs can become a regular piece of commuting infrastructure. When it comes to high quality, fresh foods, programs that attempt to support and expand local access such as farmers’ markets and CSAs can go a long way towards smoothing out potential road-blocks. Essentially, we as a society can and should create the infrastructure that supports health.
Another area where public programs can help with difficult issues is by altering perceptions. The anti-smoking campaign showed that a cultural norm can be deprogrammed, which can be a key factor in changing behavior. Cigarette packaging received warning labels designed to raise awareness about their health consequences, and the campaign worked. In fitness, labeling calories and nutritional information are the equivalent and there is reason to believe that clearly labeled calorie information can reduce the amount of consumption, at least in the case of sugary drinks.4 Further, restricting advertising towards children is an effective way to prevent bad habits from developing in the first place. Just as Joe Camel went the way of the dinosaur, we may need to send Captain Crunch packing.
Finding The Balance
Soda taxes have shown that public policy initiatives are complicated business at best. You may be skeptical, as many Americans are, of rules and regulations from government. Some bristle at the idea of government trying to change their behaviors, in any manner. Others might object to spending money on these types of initiatives. Indeed, campaigns against government programs on the grounds that they are too intrusive or too costly are not uncommon. But policies can be successful when they make it easier for you to achieve your own personal goals. Being free from disease, maintaining an appropriate weight, living a longer life, and feeling more confident are things that just about everyone wants. Thinking about the link between these goals and public policies that can make it easier to reach them is a very big area of opportunity. To make America healthier, we in the fitness industry should take up the challenge and support and promote good policy that makes it easier for everyone to stay healthy.
*Unnecessary excess body fat is body fat that is driven entirely by modifiable factors. There are in fact a wide range of body types, some with more body fat than others. Heavier body types are not necessarily in need of change.
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References
- The Fitness Movement And The Fitness Center Industry, 1960-2000
- Be Tobacco Free – Laws/Policies
- CDC – Trends In Current Cigarette Smoking Among High School Students And Adults, United States, 1965-2014
- Bloomberg School of Public Health – Teens Choose Water When Calorie Count Of Sugary Beverages Is Easier To Understand