An open letter and a call for regulation:

                Our industry, the health and wellness industry, is a lifesaving job.  Literally. People do not just come to trainers, wellness experts, exercise instructors, etc. for bodybuilding and yoga mat advice.  They come to us to become free from medication, to lower blood pressure, to manage diabetes, and to eliminate or mitigate other morbidity factors.  These are the people that seriously need our help and need someone trained, educated, and knowledgeable to achieve their goals without adding on more medication or just curbing the effects of their disorder/disease.  They want to learn how to live a healthy lifestyle without medication or invasive surgeries and we are here to help them.  However, our education, background, certifications, and expertise are being undermined by lack of regulation in our industry.  No requirements for “trainers” or instructors to be certified, false and misleading information online by large companies, and lack of general knowledge by the public is eroding the structures of an industry that could help so many people. 

                The need for those who consider themselves to health and wellness experts to be certified or possess degrees is at the forefront of this battle.  Certifying agencies need to be accredited, reviewed, and systematically updated with peer-reviewed science as our understanding grows.  Certifying agencies that are not accredited have no place in our industry.  There is an urgent need for a regulatory process in which these agencies are reviewed and, after a probationary period, shut down and dispersed so that people who are looking to become an educated professional are not fooled by their names and so that the public is not being harmed by “certified professionals” who lack credibility. Gyms need to be audited and if they are found to have staff working under their name that hold no credentials they need to be fined.  This is not only taking away from the actual professionals, but also dangerous and can and has resulted in death. These fake professionals also are a defeating factor in the motivation of the people who need and want real help:  they spend thousands of dollars for a life-changing experience and receive no return; thinking that they have now tried everything they become defeated and result to either staying in their risk stratifications or turn to pills and surgeries.

                Another cause of this defeatist attitude toward health and wellness is misinformation and disinformation being sold by major companies.  Boutique-style high intensity gyms are popping up left and right and selling their methodology as the best new thing in the industry.  People are consistently injured, overworked, and think that this is great for their bodies- and as actual professionals we know it is not.  They have no system in place to make sure their members are preserving muscle mass while losing fat mass, they overwork the body, muscles and joints by selling full body high-intensity workouts “that can be done every day” (and should NOT be done daily), they promote higher heart rates for longer periods of time than is beneficial by having leader boards and point systems (which is also defeatist for those who feel like they can never make it), and often employ those who are not certified or have not health and wellness degrees. I have worked in these settings, I know.  I have also now sent emails to many major home health workout systems- Peloton, Mirror, Tonal- to see what certifications are required of their trainers.  In live chats none of their customer service representatives even knew how to find that information, and I have not heard back from anyone except Peloton- who provided that their trainers were required to be certified, and that many of them have the NASM certification (and did not respond to the inquiry as to what certifications are acceptable, or why the credentials are not advertised on their site).  This is unacceptable.  Even their advertisements tout poor form, bodies that are not possibly achieved by their workouts, and other false claims. Workouts that are not safe, supplements that are not regulated, and trainers that are not qualified could all be remedied by regulations in our industry.

                If the general public had a better understanding of these concepts they would also know to avoid these snake oil remedies and charlatan professionals.  However, our education and public health systems have failed us.  The public is confused daily by this magazine or that influencer or a Facebook ad that says this is great, these are bad, this will kill you- if you do not know how to decipher, filter, and recognize certain key elements it will make your head spin.  The public needs a better understanding of concepts such as anecdotal evidence, basic nutrition principles, basic exercise theory, what is recommended for health, and other concepts relating to our field. As has been illustrated recently, when so much misinformation is presented when you have no understanding it makes you question everything, even the correct information.  Then the path of least resistance is taken which is often a dark and misleading path.  If you are presented with “ten minutes daily to a flat stomach” or “You will need to control your nutrition and exercise daily 3-5 days a week for an hour for health” it is in our nature to reach for the quicker, easier, shinier subject line.  It needs to be understood that those are mirages- misleading, false, and harmful claims. 

                 So as degreed and certified professionals we are fighting the good fight, but it is an uphill battle each step of the way.  So much so that I know many professionals who gave up on the fight and changed career paths.  I do not blame them, I almost did myself.  It feels like no one cares when there are no regulations and no one backing professional use of science and logic.  I even have many clients who have told me their physicians have said they need to regularly exercise or eat better, and then given them false information, or even worse no more information than eat better move more.  When questioned, they could not even provide answers or resources.  Even if there are no present morbidity factors and you are an apparently healthy person that wants to train harder, gain muscle, run faster- they could also be at risk by under-qualified “professionals.” So, how do we make this a better atmosphere for all?  Provide a network of regulated fitness professionals, have insurance companies cover the cost of personal training or exercise (it will result in less use of insurance, less sick days, less injuries, etc.- money talks), have a government system that checks the credentials of those considering their self professionals in the field, and allow the actual professionals to prevail. Someone would not be able to call their self a nurse or doctor without schooling and certifications, and when we are dealing with health and literally life or death should we not be afforded a similar respect?  Nursing is the perfect example of how we can structure a hierarchy of regulations: there are many nursing certifications and degrees, and your position and title reflects such.  And yes, I know that simply having schooling or certifications does not automatically make you good at your job.  I have worked with some people who held certifications and were terrible.  However, it certainly gives them a better foundation at which to build their skills and become the professionals that we need as our country is falling sicker by the day with lifestyle and hypokinetic disease that can be fixed with the help of those who are qualified.