Conducting an exercise consultation: Guidelines for health professionals

Abstract

Research in the UK reveals that levels of physical activity in various age groups across the population remain low. It is reported that around 75% of the adult population fail to reach the levels of physical activity which have been suggested by the American College of Sports Medicine as a minimum to achieve a health benefit. Individual interventions have tended to focus on a high profile, technology based form of intervention, namely fitness ‘testing’ or assessment. Agencies involved in health related exercise promotion, for example health boards, leisure services and sports councils, have tended to invest heavily in this approach and yet this form of intervention has little if any data to support its effectiveness in changing behaviour.

The authors present exercise consultation as an alternative method of one to one intervention in a health promotion setting which does not involve physical testing or measurement. This paper reviews current literature surrounding exercise consultation and suggests practices for its context and structure. Preliminary findings from a pilot study reveal that individuals are quite positive to the actual process of an exercise consultation. There is a wide potential market for the application of exercise consultation in a variety of health promotion settings, for example primary health care, general practitioner health promotion clinics, pre- and post-operative situations, and in the many leisure centres which exist throughout the UK.

Keywords:

• exercise
• health
• interventions
• behaviour change