Tanning Has No Place in the Fitness Industry

I don’t know the actual statistics, but I do know that there are still fitness centers out there that offer tanning beds to members. And, there are always several tanning bed companies represented at industry trade shows. My question is, why?

Indoor tanning used to be thought of as “safer” than being out in the sun, and tanning bed companies still try to make that claim. However, the American Academy of Dermatology, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the National Cancer Institute, among others, have all declared that UV radiation from artificial sources, such as tanning beds and sun lamps, is a known carcinogen.

Dr. Whitmore, Associate Professor of Dermatology, Department of Dermatology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md., says, “Indoor tanning uses UVA radiation, which leads some in the industry to claim that indoor tanning is a safe alternative to outdoor tanning. However, most salons’ bulbs still provide a significant amount of UVB radiation, in addition to UVA. Both types of ultraviolet light, whether from sunlight or indoor tanning light, cause various types of damage in the skin that may lead to skin cancer and should be avoided.”

Fitness centers are a place of “health and wellness.” They should offer sound fitness, nutrition and weight-loss advice. Many even offer ways to reduce stress, such as mind/body fitness and massage. Where do tanning beds fit into this picture? Why would a place that claims to offer healthy advice also offer a service that is known to cause cancer?

An article published in FM even suggests that members who get skin cancer from a tanning bed at a fitness center could potentially sue the facility.

The fitness industry should stay out of the tanning business. Places that promote healthy lifestyles should not also promote cancer-causing agents.

The Childhood Obesity Fight Is Ours

For how long, exactly, are we going to keep saying that a healthy lifestyle starts in the home? Before we realize, that is, that no matter how much and how long we say it, it isn’t going to happen. It’s unfortunate, but most parents aren’t helping their kids lead healthful lifestyles — not by example, anyway — and neither are the schools, so it’s up to fitness professionals to step in and do it for them.

Our publication has been talking about the need and opportunity to provide youth fitness programs at facilities for years, and I know many are doing so (see the stories on youth fitness on the FM website). But we haven’t yet scratched the surface of what needs to be done. Recently, a story appeared on the MSNBC website titled Private gym for teens aims to address obesity. It’s a great concept for a gym, especially in light of the fact that IHRSA reports that, since 2005, approximately 1 million kids ages six to 17 have worked out with personal trainers. Obviously, there is a desire by kids to get healthy. Unfortunately, even though this facility, Overtime Fitness, has been open for close to a year, it still isn’t turning a profit, and it is now opening its doors to adults to supplement its revenue stream.

What’s even more unfortunate is the criticism these types of facilities are receiving from some professions and organizations. For instance, the Overtime facility, once a virtual reality flight simulation center, features video games that inspire movement, such as boxing, dancing, jumping and bike riding. But critics contend that using video games “won’t necessarily compel kids to keep exercising as they grow up.” I say, get them moving, let them see what it’s like to be healthy, rather than obese and lazy. My guess is, in the long run, that’s the way they’re going to want to stay.

Another critic, Ann Cotten, director of the Schaefer Center for Public Policy at the University of Baltimore, doesn’t think it’s fair that kids who have money should be able to have a facility to work out in, while low-income teens “who are at highest risk of obesity, diabetes, asthma and other health problems” can’t afford it. Hey, we have to start somewhere! Sure, it would be great to have public- and private-funded facilities where all teens could benefit. But, let’s look at the business reality here. To their credit, the managers of Overtime are asking Google Inc. and other local businesses to fund scholarships, and the facility is waving the $109 fee this summer.

I hope this facility, and others like it, make it. And, I hope that those people who criticize these efforts to help fight the youth obesity epidemic are proved wrong, and thus silenced. If your facility offers youth fitness opportunities, I commend you for stepping up to the plate, and hope to hear what you’re doing so others may follow suit.

Key Board Security

Whatever happened to cat burglars? They were the Cary Grants of the burgling profession, suave and sophisticated, gliding into fancy soirees to delicately lift a heavy jeweled necklace off Grace Kelly and make off with her fortune.

Now, they’ve been replaced by a new breed of burglar: the less elegant, but just as effective car burglars. The Venice Gondolier Sun reports that car burglars are sly and swift, walking into fitness facilities to casually lift members’ keys off a key board and make off with their keys, cash and ID.

Lifestyles Family Fitness, Venice, Fla., and a local YMCA were targeted, and both provide a master key board where members can leave their keys before working out.

Gondolier Reporter Tommy McIntyre says, “Police advise members who use fitness centers to keep their car keys with them while working out, if possible.” I don’t know about you, but the sound of car keys jingling in my pocket doesn’t exactly motivate me to train longer. Heck, I don’t think my gym shorts even have pockets. But, thankfully, the Venice police offer a solution for that particular wardrobe shortcoming: A waistpack.“If the waistpack is not comfortable while working out, throw it over your shoulder as you go from machine to machine and set it down where you can watch it,” the article suggests. Sounds convenient for members. Keep track of your heart rate, your hydration and your valuables.

Why don’t these facilities provide a safe, secure area for members to leave their keys while they’re working out? Are key boards, fannypacks or gym shorts with pockets really the only options?

Does your facility use a key board? If so, why? And how do you keep it secure?

Expect the Unexpected

Several years back, when I walked into my fitness center, the front desk staffer told me that the facility was closed for a few hours because a nest of bees was found in the women’s locker room. Yikes! I didn’t get the story on how it was discovered, or if anyone had actually gotten stung, but a situation like that could be costly for a business (an injured member, loss of business, reputation, etc.).

Another unexpected emergency happened recently at a fitness center in Immokalee, Fla. The Immokalee Sports Complex was closed for three days when a leak was discovered in the chlorination tank for the pool. A hazardous materials team was called in, and three staff members and a contractor who were exposed to the vapors were taken to a hospital. A clean-up company determined that the chlorine tank was contaminated by an acidic solution.

While these two situations may seem extreme, they did happen at fitness centers, and can happen at yours. In fact, you need to be prepared for any number of strange occurrences – both in terms of member injuries or to the actual building itself. And while you can’t possibly prepare for every scenario, you can (and should) have a risk-management plan in place.

Do you and your staff members know what to do in an emergency? For some tips on how to create an emergency plan, search FM’s Article Archive for "risk management" or "safety."