Fitness in Practice – a united approach

What do a bunch of doctors, fitness professionals and a physio talk about when they sit around a table together? It’s agreed, they have a common interest in health and well being but until recently, they rarely spoke with each other, let alone work together to promote them.

We all know that the UK population is getting fatter and sicker because we are inactive. 85% of the population see their doctor at least once a year. The GP has the opportunity to encourage them to be more active but quite often doesn’t have the time to see that they are.

Fitness practitioners have the time, knowledge and skill to do just that. So it makes obvious sense to work together. And this is exactly what the Joint Consultative Forum of the Medical Royal Colleges and the Fitness Sector (JCF) does. It was put together in the early part of 2010 and I am proud to say, it is now a fully independent working group .

For the first time we have a group of doctors, fitness practitioners and a physio who can provide well informed advice to the fitness sector, the health professions and the Department of Health about getting healthy and fit.

It has set itself a very important immediate task; there is strong evidence that exercise can make a big difference to people with chronic illness but there is quite a lot of confusion about what exercise referral schemes are for and how they should function. So the JCF is currently drawing up new standards of professional and operational practice for working with patients. The new standards will be ready by the Autumn of 2011.

The JCF is another example of how the FIA works with other sectors to make things happen and how it brings together the interests of its members and the wider public health.

John Searle
Chief Medical Officer