London 2012 legacy; Rio heroics and more obesity than ever

"Get serious about obesity or bankrupt the NHS"

Simon Stevens the Chief Exec of NHS England describes obesity as:

'The new smoking, and it represents a slow motion car crash in terms of avoidable illness and rising health care costs' 

But how big a problem is the obesity epidemic?

• Latest statistics say that two thirds of adults and a quarter of children between the age of 2-10 are overweight or obese.
• Last year the fire service had to rescue over 900 obese people from their own homes because they were stuck indoors
• The most recent and complete statistics suggest that obesity cost the UK economy £15billion in 2007, with £4.2billion of the bill being fronted by the NHS. 

Take it forward to this summer in Brazil;

• Team GB become the first country to increase its medal haul following hosting an Olympic Games
• With 1.03 medals per million people, GB massively outperform both the USA (0.38 per million) and China (0.05 per million) at the games.
• Britain also spends the least money per medal out of the top three nations. 

These two sets of statistics appear, at least to me, to be at ends with one another. On the one hand it would appear that we are a nation of obese people who are continuing to get less active and more obese. On the other hand, it would appear that by natural talent and sporting prowess we are able to produce more, better athletes with less money. 

There is an obvious disconnect which I can only put down to the nation's attitude when it comes to sports and fitness. There is an elitist culture in sport which is deeply ingrained; those who have been chosen to do well get the help they need and those who are judged not to be capable don't receive any help and give up young.

It's precisely this issue which had resulted in us having a combination of a 'slow car crash' healthcare system and a team of the best athletes in the world. 

We get taught about physical education in school, but how does this set us up for life? How does this apply to us as adults?

Adults in the UK don't play a lot of sport. People are averse to exercise generally. I know this sounds a bit general but I hear it a lot. 'I can't play sport, I hate exercise', As someone who plays rugby I know too well how difficult it can be for a new person to start a new hobby in sport, especially if you weren't into it as a child.

I've moved a few times in the last few years and as such have played for a number of new rugby teams. The entry process is pretty much the same. It's a new team, with a bunch of people you don't know and to begin with you get put in as a sub on the third team. 

You aren't coached you're just expected to pick it up and learn by doing. Nobody explains the rules; you're just expected to know. Nobody explains the calls, you just get put into the mix and are expected to go. 

Now imagine you're in the same situation and you aren't confident. Perhaps you're overweight and out of shape. Perhaps you used to play but haven't picked up a ball in a decade.

Imagine the guts it takes to turn up to a rugby team, with only a vague idea of the sport and being expected to just get on with it. 

Imagine how tempting it would be to not show up when you're training with a bunch of strangers who are going to make almost no effort to help you out. It's raining, it's December and it's freezing. The alternative is a night in, in front of the TV. 

I have never ending respect for people who show up as newbies, and stick with it throughout the season as the obstacles up front to getting into it are enormous. 

This personal example translates to gyms too. If you don't know what you're doing you have a choice of going to a big group class (hoping not to injure yourself), or you can choose slogging it out at rush hour trying to piece a workout between groups of guys hovering around equipment and congratulating each other while they plan their night out. 

It all looks unappealing. I can see why people put it off. 

Then there's the food aspect. We don't get taught about good nutrition at school. Instead we learn how to bake cakes in Food Tech and are left to our own devices. We have to rely upon our parents, friends and magazines to tell us how to eat.

YouTube bloggers come up with horrendously unbalanced and uneducated diets just because it works for them. Glossy magazines come up with the same useless tips every month, promising the quick fix answers that we crave. But what alternative is there?

The government comes up with health initiatives, which are certainly better than nothing, but appear from the trenches to have very little penetration into the daily habits of the population. I can’t remember anyone bringing up the five a day mantra when talking about food. It just hasn’t worked.

Even doctors are woefully under educated about food. I might ruffle some feathers here but doctors (GP’s included) are not given anything like enough good education to help people actually make the necessary changes in their lives to improve their health and fitness.

I know this because I have helped a disproportionately large number of people in healthcare industry regain their health and fitness over my years as a trainer, and they all agree with that judgement. Plus, they don’t need another job to do. Let them deal with the medical bit and leave the preventative healthcare to the fitness industry.

Here’s what I think needs to be done. The fitness industry needs to be regulated

Sure capitalist values bring out the best in the best, just like out sporting industry. But it doesn’t work out as the best solution for the masses.

The professions of Personal Trainer and Nutritionist are not closed professions. This means that anyone can do it without being regulated. This is why it’s messed up, any Tom, Dick and Harry can turn up and give you nonsense advice about health.

I get tonnes of clients who have experiences nothing other than super harsh, totalitarian dietary advice from PT’s who want nothing other than another transformation photo. It messes people up. It creates eating disorders and it reinforces the idea that fitness is something only for the elite.

I also see people going to PT's and being given programmes which are just wrong for them. Designing a good programme for someone isn't rocket science but there should be a limit on what you can and can't give someone if it's going to injure them. 

There needs to be a standard for PT’s, a system of best practice. Something which is sustainable and hold PT’s accountable for their behaviour rather than just scooping up their paycheck and moving on.

We need to make the fitness industry a part of the healthcare industry, the healthcare industry is stretched to the limit already and the fitness industry is just waiting to be taken on.