The Manitoba Fitness Council is Looking for Support on a Government Initiative:
The Manitoba Fitness Council is Looking for Support on a Government Initiative: Fitness as an Essential Service
Many have commented to us that fitness and facilities that offer exercise opportunities are an essential service. We have been approached by Government and would like to provide some context to them, to help them present this position.
We acknowledge that we are living through unprecedented times and we need to proceed cautiously. The risks of closing gyms again and the long term effects on participants health include: decreased capacity to recover from the disease should we be exposed to it, increased weight, increased sedentary behaviour, low cardio respiratory health, decreased mental health (including: anxiety, depression, decreased coping mechanisms) as well as other complications yet to be discovered.
We know that when people are at home for long periods of time, the intentions are good but studies have shown that physical activity levels dropped by as much as 60%.
"Short-term changes in Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour in reaction to COVID-19 may become permanently entrenched, leading to increased risk of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease in children and adults."
Essential services are defined by Government as: all the services necessary to ensure the health and safety of citizens. Those are the services and activities for which the health and safety of citizens could potentially be threatened if they were interrupted. We feel we meet the above criteria.
To ensure we are properly representing the industry, we want your opinion regardless if you are a fitness participant, fitness leader or gym owner/manager.
