In celebration of its 30th anniversary, the American Council on Exercise (ACE) renewed its commitment to ending the nation’s growing obesity epidemic by 2035. It is a cause that greatly needs attention. According to the Journal of Medicine, 79 million adults, or more than two-thirds of the population, suffer from obesity.
“We understand this is not something that our organization is going to be able to do alone, so we have spent a large amount of time and energy over the last five years engaging in collaborative relationships and working with like-minded organizations in the space,” said Scott Goudeseune, the CEO of ACE.
The good news is as the health and fitness industry has an expanded presence in the medical fitness space, gyms can also play a large role in combating the obesity epidemic. Goudeseune offers a few suggestions on ways fitness facilities can assist ACE in achieving their goal.
Join a Coalition
“I think it is going to be important for facility owners, regardless of size, to become involved in small coalitions or even some of the major coalitions out there, if nothing else to educate themselves. The one beauty I have found about facility owners in this industry is they are doing what they do for reasons beyond financial gains. They are doing it because they really believe they can help make change happen with the members that come into their facility.”
Collaborate with Health Care Providers
“It has become apparent over the last five years that fitness professionals, health coaches, personal trainers and group fitness instructors have a place in the health care continuum. They can now be part of the referral process from physicians in areas where patients need to become more active. Gym operators and owners should really be looking into how they can work with local physicians and health care professionals. Just getting some folks moving is a good starting point. A good focus is connecting with local physicians within their marketplace and providing resources for patients that physicians want to refer into exercise programming.”
Don’t Rely on Third-Party Reimbursement … Yet
“One thing we are falling in love with as an industry is the possibility of reimbursement. I don’t think reimbursement is going to happen in a large way anytime soon. We know that America did not become obese overnight and they are not going to change back to a more healthy size overnight. I don’t think reimbursement is going to be mainstream, at least over the next three to five years.”
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Emily Harbourne is the former assistant editor of Club Solutions Magazine.
