Federal Guidelines Encourage New Year’s Resolutions

The federal government released a new set of exercise guidelines in October without much fanfare. However, since this is the week many members and potential members will be looking to follow through on their New Year’s Resolutions, it may be time to take another look at them.

The report, titled Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, says that adults gain health benefits from two-and-a-half hours per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, or one hour and 15 minutes of vigorous physical activity. They should also incorporate weight training at least two days per week. There are also guidelines for children, older adults, women during pregnancy, adults with disabilities and people with chronic medical conditions.

Those of us in the fitness industry sometimes live in a bubble, not remembering that everyone doesn’t read the health and fitness news in their paper, or subscribe to email notices with the keyword “exercise” in them. The fact that the U.S. government publishes exercise guidelines at all may be a surprise to many of your members and potential members, and may be something to mention in your advertising or when giving member tours.

Many new members are confused about what exercises they should do, how much and how often, and these guidelines are a great place to start. Why not create an incentive program using them, and reward members who reach these goals for a whole month? It doesn’t have to be much. You’d be surprised by what people will do for a free T-shirt or water bottle.

Put Your Money Where Your Waist Is

While some employers reward people for healthy behavior, others are beginning to take more drastic measures. With rising healthcare costs, and costs rising in many aspects of business, companies are trying to balance their budgets in ways employees may never have expected. Namely, charging them for being overweight.

Alabama, the second-fattest state in the U.S., is giving its more than 37,000 state employees one year to lose weight, or they will pay $25 per month for health insurance that otherwise is free. The state already charges workers who smoke.

While some people may think this is extreme, I – and I expect many in the fitness industry – think it is a fine solution to a problem that could otherwise get out of control. Since incentives such as free T-shirts or water bottles aren’t worth the effort to lose weight for many people, those types of small rewards only benefit people who are already fit, or who are already on their way to changing their behavior.

For people not already taking part in a fitness program, getting started can be the most difficult part. However, faced with a fee of up to $300 per year, maybe exercise doesn’t seem all that bad. And, as we all know, once they get started, there will be infinite rewards for these employees, in addition to not losing that $25.

Exercise for Cash

Need motivation to exercise and eat right? How about cash? The British government is offering just that with a new program it is launching.

A health adviser to the government explains that children in the U.K. will receive taxpayer-funded financial bonuses into their state savings accounts if they maintain a healthy lifestyle. The payments into the Child Trust Funds would leave healthy teenagers with more cash than their less-fit peers when the tax-free policies mature on their 18th birthdays. Children who get immunized, walk or cycle to class, and take other healthy steps will get bonuses to their so-called “baby bonds.”

The idea came from Julian le Grand, chairman of Health England. Grand also said that healthy eating at school could be rewarded by linking swipe cards to the program. Exercise among young people could also be monitored, perhaps through pedometers or devices attached to bicycles, he said.

It’s about time, right? Fitness centers do all they can to motivate members, but most classes, programs, etc., only go so far. What if insurance companies actually paid people to work out, or at least made their insurance coverage much cheaper? The idea isn’t new, but the British government has finally made a serious gesture in that direction.

Fitness centers would definitely benefit from a plan such as this, since working out in a facility would be easier to track then, say, wearing a pedometer.

But a similar program in the U.S. isn’t going to materialize on its own. Facility owners, healthcare providers and all healthy-minded people need to work to make it happen.

We all know that most people need motivation to exercise and eat right. Maybe money will finally be what tips the scales in the right direction.


P.S. Happy St. Patrick's Day!