Together we can build an Olympic health legacy

I am still on a high following the great success of the FIA & IMSPA Industry Summit: Winning in 2012 and Beyond, which was held at the Congress Centre in central London this week.

Over 350 delegates from 241 organisations came to discuss, debate and network with their industry peers, and I am happy to say that the venue was buzzing throughout, as we engaged on the subject of working together as an industry to create a health legacy post 2012 Games.

As I mentioned in my previous blog, we were lucky enough to be joined by a great selection of high-profile guest speakers from the worlds of sport, fitness, politics, medicine and economics.

Highlights of the day included the brilliant John Inverdale, who expertly hosted proceedings, an announcement from the Public Health Minister Anne Milton about the Government’s national ambition for physical activity, and a fascinating talk from the Chief Medical Officer for the Olympics and Paralympics  Dr Richard Budgett, who provided an insight into looking after our athletes as well as our nation’s health during and after the Games.

Also, for the first time at an FIA event we had a Tweet Wall, which was a tremendous hit. Over 200 Tweets were sent in the run up to and during the event with the hash tag #LegacyReady. I hope that you will continue to keep in touch with me and the FIA team using #FIA and #LegacyReady to tell us how you are preparing for 2012.

The theme of partnership was highlighted by all of the speakers, and I look forward to the FIA collaborating with new partners in both the public and private sectors in the New Year. The next twelve months really will be key for establishing priority status for our sector on the political agenda, and we must all work together to achieve this.

With 40 million adults in the UK still not taking part in just one 30 minute session of exercise each week, we really do have our work cut out; but I am game for the challenge, and I hope that you are to.

The feedback on the Summit from those who attended has been extremely positive, and we look forward to welcoming this year’s delegates and plenty of new ones as well to our next Summit and other key events in 2012.

Healthy eating and exercise must go hand in hand

If you doubt the extent of the obesity epidemic in the Western world, go find some winter sun. I am writing this a couple of days after a short break in Tenerife. Wherever I looked, there were people whose shorts were stretched over large buttocks and big tummies! It was not a pretty site. ‘Lean machines’ were in the minority! Despite the huge investment in public health we must remember that improvements in public health will take a long time. It is nearly 50 years since the health risks of smoking were first recognised but only recently that a smoking ban has been achieved in public places. So we just have to keep plugging away at it.


As predicted at this time of year, there have been a few articles promoting the view that exercise is not important in weight loss programmes. According to them, all you need to do is reduce your food intake but new to the argument is that exercise does not work if your goal is weight loss. True, if you eat less you will lose weight and it is possible to exercise without losing weight, but the issue is not simply about shedding a few kilograms. It is about being healthy and improving all the components of fitness with which we are familiar. For that to happen, healthy eating and exercise must go hand in hand.

Secondly, research is increasingly showing that fat people can be aerobically fit – the so-called ‘fit fat’. When overweight people embark on a programme of progressive aerobic exercise their VO2 max rises, several indicators of health and fitness improve and the risk of developing obesity associated illness falls. It is tempting to conclude therefore that people do not need to lose weight they just need to get on a treadmill or rower.

However, fitness is not only about aerobic fitness. Muscle strength and endurance, flexibility and motor function also need to improve if somebody is to achieve all round fitness. Being overweight has other complications. The musculoskeletal system is overburdened so arthritis of the hips, knees, ankles and spine are common. Weight loss plays a major part in its management and prevention.

Something else people are unaware of is that being overweight significantly increases the risk of surgical operations – and most of us will have atleast one major operation during our lives particularly after the age of 65. Not to mention the fact that Thrombosis, infection, slow rehabilitation and delays in wound healing are all serious risks when an obese person has major surgery.

So to be fat and fit is good but to be lean and fit is better. We need to go on measuring the waist circumference and helping clients to get it within the optimum range.

John Searle
Chief Medical Officer
Fitness Industry Association