Couch potatoes may be an endangered species. A Surgeon
General's report due to be released in May targets the
sedentary lifestyle as public fitness enemy number one. And by
touting the benefits of physical activity, this first-of-its-kind
report aims to raise heart rates throughout the nation.
"[The report] has the potential to have as great an impact
on people's attitudes and behaviors as the Surgeon
General's report on tobacco did when it came out in 1964,"
says Mary Ann Hill, director of communications for the
President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, which
teamed with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the
commissioning of the study.
Gregg Hartley, executive director of the Fitness Products
Council, sees potential in the Surgeon General's report as
well. "This gives [the fitness industry] an opportunity to
build something around the report that can, over a period of three
to five years, affect the way people think about physical
activity," he says.
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For the fitness industry, this manifesto on physical activity
couldn't have come at a better time. With health clubs
reporting membership gains and sports participation levels rising,
it seems the American public is particularly receptive to fitness
appeals. Looks like couch potatoes will have to shape up . . . or
ship out.
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