The World Health Organization has published a strategy aimed at fighting inactivity globally. This extraordinary milestone for the health and fitness industry sees our work being recognised at the highest level

The health and fitness industry is a young sector by any measure and although we’ve made the most incredible progress since things kicked off in the 70s and 80s, there’s still a huge journey ahead if we’re to realise our full potential as leaders in the world of health and prevention.

In this context, the arrival of the World Health Organization (WHO) on the health and fitness scene is a huge milestone for the entire sector. It not only recognises the work already being done, but also lays out a supporting strategy which will embrace all areas of activity, and draw the health and fitness market into the wider world of activity and health prescription.

The new strategy is called Global Action Plan on Physical Activity (GAPPA) for 2018–2030, and on page 70 we talk to Dr Fiona Bull, programme manager at the Department of Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases at the WHO, who’s one of the architects of the strategy and responsible for driving its delivery.

Bull is one of the world’s foremost experts in prevention and has built a global reputation working in academia, government and workplace health promotion. Her career has spanned many aspects of activity, with time at the Department of Health in the US and National Centre for Physical Activity in the UK.

The new strategy she’s tasked with delivering started life as part of a wider initiative launched in 2013, called Global Action Plan on Prevention and Treatment of Non-Communicable Disease.

This document identified tobacco, alcohol, diet/obesity and physical inactivity as the four main risk factors for health and spelled out in broad terms what should be done to tackle each.

Since then, inactivity has been at the back of the queue, as guidelines have been produced to address issues around tobacco, alcohol and diet/obesity. However, our time has now come.

The plan’s ultimate targets have been set as a 15 per cent reduction in the global prevalence of physical inactivity among adults and adolescents by 2030, with the measure being at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity a week and also a focus on encouraging regular strength training.

So now we’re on the WHO’s radar as a global industry, which is a huge step forward, and we have the opportunity to build a partnership with the organisation responsible for the health and wellbeing of everyone on the planet.

There’s much to be done to develop the collaboration and figure out how we can contribute to this global target, but it’s clear that exciting times lie ahead.