Amy Bantham, DrPH, MS, MPP, Author at MedFitNetwork

Creating Welcoming, Inclusive Health & Fitness Environments for People with Obesity

Amy Bantham, DrPH, MS, MPP/28 December 2021/ All MFN blog/

Each year for the past several decades, the health & fitness industry has served approximately 20% of the population, primarily helping the fit get fitter. Eighty percent of the population joined a health & fitness center but did not stay, or never joined because they decided it was not the right fit for them. A movement is gaining momentum to change that, and to make the health & fitness industry more inclusive and welcoming of people of all different ages, shapes, sizes and abilities.

Worldwide, rates of obesity have tripled in the past 45 years. More than 42% of Americans have obesity, with the prevalence in the United States rising over 12% in the last 18 years. This presents an untapped opportunity for fitness professionals with specialized knowledge and expertise in working with clients with obesity.

Dr. Rachele Pojednic and I have developed a MedFit Classroom Specialist Course. Presented in 10 modules and requiring 10 hours to complete, the Obesity Fitness Specialist course defines obesity and weight bias and identifies the biological, developmental, environmental and lifestyle factors that contribute to obesity. It explores solutions to obesity using the Socioecological model and empowers fitness professionals to be a part of individual-level, as well as institutional- and community-level, solutions.

Learners will be able to position themselves as obesity fitness specialists separate and distinct from weight management and weight loss specialists. They will be able to create safe and effective programming for clients with obesity and inclusive environments that can lead to sustained client behavior change and health outcomes. The course culminates in a 10-step roadmap with one end goal—obesity fitness specialists who can help their clients reduce their risk of obesity-related risk factors and associated disease, discover the joy of movement, and reap the many health benefits of physical activity.

People with obesity who find health & fitness environments where they feel welcome and included are likely to stay. Fitness specialists who are able to lead with empathy and build trust are likely to make their clients feel understood and heard. Obesity Fitness Specialists have an important role to play in helping their clients with obesity achieve their health & fitness goals.

Dr. Amy Bantham, DrPH, MS, MPP, is the CEO/Founder of Move to Live More, a research and consulting firm addressing physical inactivity, chronic disease and social determinants of health through cross-sector collaboration and innovation. A certified health and wellness coach, personal trainer, and group exercise instructor, Amy holds a Doctor of Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health. She can be reached at movetolivemore.com or @MovetoLiveMore

Moving Together Outside

Amy Bantham, DrPH, MS, MPP/2 July 2021/ All MFN blog/

Every afternoon around 4:00 pm, just outside my study window, I can hear the sounds of outdoor physical activity classes held in a nearby park. Instructors calling, students responding, joyful sounds of activity and movement—the opposite of what I am doing as I start my seventh Zoom meeting of the day.

Along with the majority of Americans, I am sitting more and moving less during the pandemic. In fact, physical activity levels are down around 32% in a nation where only 23% of us met recommended guidelines for both aerobic and strength training activities before the pandemic. Shockingly, but somehow not surprisingly, 61% of Americans report experiencing undesired weight gain—29 pounds on average—during the pandemic.

The fitness professionals leading those classes outside my window provide an outstanding case study in the value of adaptability and sheer determination to get people moving.

During the early stages of the pandemic, their studios were closed. Later on, capacity limits were too constraining, and their studios were too small and poorly ventilated to hold their classes indoors. Therefore, they needed to come up with an innovative solution to keep their businesses open. They worked with our city government to secure permits—at an affordable price—to move their classes to an outdoor public park that was accessible to all community residents.

This is not the only example of fitness professionals successfully securing permits or shared use agreements from their local governments. There are success stories from San Diego, Long Beach, Washington, DC, Austin and Boston. However, these stories are too few and far between.

Our attention over the past year has been almost single-mindedly focused on an infectious disease, yet beneath the COVID-19 pandemic that raged lay the dual epidemics of physical inactivity and obesity that helped fuel it. People with obesity have more than double the risk for hospitalization from COVID-19 and a nearly 50% higher risk of death. The odds of death are 2.5 times greater for people who are consistently physically inactive, compared with people who consistently meet recommended guidelines, and physical inactivity was found to be the strongest modifiable risk factor for severe COVID-19.

Qualified, credentialed fitness professionals have an important role to play in getting people moving. We have worked hard to gain the expertise to provide safe, structured physical activity programming for different types of populations. We are true believers in the mental and health benefits of physical activity and are trained in helping others change their behavior to experience these benefits.

The American Council on Exercise has launched a grassroots campaign—Moving Together Outside—to support qualified fitness professionals in their efforts to get people moving by expanding access to community spaces. I see it as a win-win-win. For fitness professionals, seeking ways to work with students and clients outdoors during and after the pandemic. For municipalities, seeking safe and affordable physical activity options to offer to residents. For community residents, seeking opportunities for social connection and movement.

I am proud to be the national spokesperson for the Moving Together Outdoors Campaign. I invite my fellow fitness professionals to become a campaign supporter at advocacy@acefitness.org. Let’s help good ideas spread, so the daily physical activity classes that I hear from the park next to my home are sounds heard daily from parks across the nation.

References

American Psychological Association. Stress in America: One Year Later, a New Wave of Pandemic Health Concerns.
Meyer, J., McDowell, C., Lansing, J., Brower, C., Smith, L., Tully, M. & Herring, M. (2020). Changes in physical activity and sedentary behaviour due to the COVID-19 outbreak and associations with mental health in 3,052 US adults.
Popkin, B. M., Du, S., Green, W. D., Beck, M. A., Algaith, T., Herbst, C. H., … & Shekar, M. (2020). Individuals with obesity and COVID‐19: A global perspective on the epidemiology and biological relationships. Obesity Reviews.
Sallis, R., Young, D. R., Tartof, S. Y., Sallis, J. F., Sall, J., Li, Q., … & Cohen, D. A. (2021). Physical inactivity is associated with a higher risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes: a study in 48 440 adult patients. British journal of sports medicine.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2018a). 2018 Physical activity guidelines advisory committee scientific report.

Trainer-with-senior-client-using-machine

A Pipeline of New Clients Through Physician Exercise Referrals

Amy Bantham, DrPH, MS, MPP/2 June 2021/ All MFN blog/

“I want to know how good the [fitness professional] is at their art and science of progressing people through exercise.”

These words were spoken by a physician who regularly refers his patients to fitness professionals. In 2019 and 2020, I spent ten months surveying and interviewing physicians and fitness professionals at a New England healthcare organization. This healthcare organization has had an exercise referral network in place for over a decade, and averages about thirty-five exercise referrals per week.

As part of the exercise referral network, physicians were able to refer patients to community-based fitness centers and professionals, as well as a hospital-affiliated facility. The hospital-affiliated facility has four programs: an 8-week exercise program for post-rehab (muskuloskeletal, cardiac, and pulmonary); a 13-week fitness, nutrition, stress management and behavior modification program; a 12-month weight management program; and a 3-month cancer recovery program. Its program staff were registered dietitians, personal trainers, and health coaches.

The purpose of my research was to understand physicians’ and fitness professionals’ perspectives on physician exercise referrals and the impact on patient behavior change. Not enough physicians provide exercise referrals to their patients, and my research revealed a clear opportunity to address barriers to referral. In addition, physicians are less comfortable referring their patients to community-based fitness facilities and professionals than they are to hospital-based fitness facilities and professionals. Raising physician familiarity with, awareness of, and confidence in fitness professionals can help build physician trust in their capabilities. This is especially true for fitness professionals who have expertise and experience working with special populations, including people with different injuries, disabilities and diagnoses.

“Physicians want to know that [their patients] are exercising in a place where, if anything bad or adverse were to happen, they are in good hands.” –Fitness Professional

Join me for my upcoming webinar with MedFit, where I’ll speak more on this topic as part. I’ll discuss ten steps that fitness professionals can take to become professionals that physicians trust to take good care of their patients. These steps focus on facilitating communication between physicians and fitness professionals about patients’ progress and outcomes, as well as raising physician awareness of the professionals’ capabilities. Join me as I walk through how to develop A Pipeline of New Clients Through Physician Exercise Referrals.

Dr. Amy Bantham has 20 years of experience working in consulting, health & fitness, and healthcare. She is the CEO/Founder of Move to Live®More, a research and consulting firm addressing physical inactivity, obesity, chronic disease, and social determinants of health through cross-sector collaboration and innovation.

Amy holds a Doctor of Public Health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, with concentrations in Health Communication and Obesity Epidemiology & Prevention. Her doctoral research focused on physician exercise prescriptions/referrals and patient exercise behavior change. She is a certified group exercise instructor, personal trainer, and health & wellness coach. She also holds a Master of Science from Northeastern University, a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, and a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University.