SAN DIEGO, CA—July 8, 2021—Today, the American Council on Exercise (ACE) furthers its commitment to advancing equity, diversity and inclusion with a first-of-its-kind course on how exercise professionals and health coaches can build a more inclusive fitness industry. The course, Taking Action with ACE: Practicing Equity, Diversity and Inclusion as an Exercise Professional, is the first step on a journey to ensure all physical activity participants have equal access and feel welcome in every environment.

Este curso irá equipar melhor os profissionais do exercício físico e os técnicos de saúde para apoiar diversas comunidades, utilizar um ambiente convidativo para aumentar o envolvimento e a retenção de clientes e ser um melhor defensor da indústria do fitness.

“For too long, inclusion just hasn’t been a priority of the fitness industry,” said ACE Chief Executive Officer, Scott Goudeseune. “This course will help exercise professionals and health coaches provide effective services to communities that have felt left out of health and fitness spaces.”

ACE collaborated with Jessica Jackson, MBA, M.Ed, instructional designer and racial equity strategist at TorranceLearning and subject matter experts in equity, diversity and inclusion to produce the course’s six modules. Upon completion of Taking Action with ACE, which is free for ACE Certified Professionals, health and exercise professionals will be able to:

• Considerar a forma como os determinantes sociais da saúde e as disparidades em matéria de saúde afectam o acesso aos recursos de saúde e de fitness.
• Atenuar os preconceitos implícitos nas interacções com colegas, clientes e membros diversos.
• Reforçar a comunicação com pessoas de diferentes origens utilizando uma linguagem centrada na pessoa.
• Demonstrar empatia e compreensão como treinador de saúde e profissional do exercício.

“In order to make meaningful change of systemic inequities, we need to ensure everyone has equitable access to health and fitness resources,” said ACE President and Chief Science Officer Cedric Bryant, Ph.D. “There are clear data about the health disparities among populations who are medically underserved. We hope this new course works toward ensuring all communities have the support they need to live healthy, balanced lives.”

"A indústria do fitness está apenas a começar o trabalho de abordar as suas desigualdades", disse Goudeseune. "Para esse efeito, a ACE pretende que um quinto dos profissionais do exercício e dos técnicos de saúde frequentem este curso no seu primeiro ano de disponibilidade."

Factos

One year ago, ACE strengthened its commitment to the role it could play in contributing to the much-needed change of structural inequities. Since then, ACE has hosted dialogues on issues within the health and fitness industry that affect diverse populations. ACE also partnered with the Women In Fitness Association (WIFA) to create the WIFA Growth Grant, a scholarship providing current ACE Certified Professionals the opportunity to build and grow their careers with a 1-year WIFA membership.

Taking Action with ACE is built upon ACE’s continuous effort to Get People Moving, and reflections from the past year. Access to support within the fitness industry has not been widely available to underserved communities.

• Inactivity levels vary among U.S. adults by race/ethnicity and location (CDC, 2020).
• U.S. teens, adults, and older adults do not exercise enough. Only 25% of U.S. adults and 20% of high school students fully meet physical activity guidelines for aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities, and nearly 31M adults 50+ don’t get physical activity beyond their daily living (CDC Active People, Healthy Nation).
• Physical activity levels are also influenced by cultural values. In most countries, girls, women, older adults, underprivileged groups, and people with disabilities and chronic diseases all have fewer opportunities to access safe, affordable and appropriate programs and places to be physically active (WHO GAPPA).
• Predominantly Black populated areas are less likely to have a gym and recreational center and that people in those areas are 51% more likely to be obese compared to non-Hispanic Whites (Fit For Us).
• The majority of Black people in America don’t have access to quality health- and fitness-related resources (Fit For Us).
• Os adultos que se identificam como gays, lésbicas e bissexuais podem ter menos 12% de probabilidades de ter um estado de saúde excelente ou muito bom do que os seus pares heterossexuais(CDC National Health Interview Survey).

Sobre o American Council on Exercise 

O American Council on Exercise (ACE) é uma organização sem fins lucrativos com alcance global que trabalha para melhorar os níveis de atividade física, certificando profissionais do exercício e treinadores de saúde, publicando investigação original, reunindo especialistas em atividade física e saúde, trabalhando diretamente com grupos comunitários e defendendo políticas que ponham em movimento pessoas de todos os estratos sociais. Os 90.000 profissionais do exercício físico e treinadores de saúde certificados pela ACE estão entre os mais respeitados no mundo do fitness, ajudando as pessoas a aderir à atividade física e a adotar um estilo de vida mais saudável. Para mais informações, ligue 800-825-3636 ou visite ACEfitness.org. AMERICAN COUNCIL ON EXERCISE, ACE e os logótipos ACE são marcas comerciais registadas do American Council on Exercise.

Contacto para os meios de comunicação social:

Patrick Grieve
Patrick@gomixte.com
619-732-0789 x728