Who Wants Fitness Checks?

Abstract

This paper reports data from a survey of a random sample of the British general public in one large city, drawn from the electoral roll. Subjects were invited to have a fitness check and to participate in an exercise programme. Age, gender and employment status were found to be related to willingness to volunteer for a fitness check and motivation to participate in an exercise programme. The implications of this for population based approaches to positive health behaviour are discussed. INTRODUCTIONTarget 16 of WHO's Health for All strategy states that there should be significant increases in positive health behaviour by the end of the twentieth century (WH0,1985). Included in the WHO definition of positive health behaviour is physical activity. The extent to which members of the general public can be encouraged to participate in physical activity using simple postal invitation technique, is the subject matter of this paper.A random sample of the general public in one large city was invited to attend a local sports centre for a fitness check and offered the opportunity to take part in a structured programme of physical exercise free of charge, taught by university staff. The location of the fitness check and the exercise classes was a major indoor international sports facility close to the univeristy where the research was conducted. The sports facility, where the university leases a certain amount of time for teaching and research purposes, is owned and administered by the local district council. The sports centre and university are located centrally within a major industrial and commercial city in the United Kingdom.