REFLECTIVE ESSAY

Reflective Essay - As a Fitness Instructor

Reflective Essay - As a Fitness Instructor

Table of Content

TABLE OF CONTENT2

INTRODUCTION3

LITERATURE REVIEW4

METHOD5

Participants5

Materials5

RESULTS9

Implicit attitudes9

Explicit attitudes11

Demographic variables12

DISCUSSION14

CONCLUSION15

REFERENCES17

Introduction

Fitness is a burgeoning health problem of major concern across both the developed and developing world. An estimated 300 million individuals are now defined as clinically obese, with millions more reported as overweight (WHO Consultation on Obesity, 2000). Consequences of this global epidemic are uniformly negative: morbid obesity significantly elevates the risk of developing numerous cardiovascular endpoints such as coronary heart disease and hypertension, as well as Type 2 diabetes and stroke, with increased health burden and explicit costs to health providers also well-documented (Ratzan, 2004).

In addition to diverse health risks, those who are significantly overweight are likely to experience stigmatisation and discrimination. Western societies' internalisation of the 'thin ideal' (Groesz, Levine, & Murnen, 2002) appears to promote negative feedback in social interactions for those who are obese (Klaczynski, Goold, & Mudry, 2004). Negative stereotypical constructions are pervasive (Hohlstein, Smith, & Atlas, 1998) and anti-fat bias has been documented in many different social contexts—from the playground, where children express a preference for interactions with non-obese peers (Bell & Morgan, 2000); the workplace, where obese candidates providing identical responses to normal weight interviewees are less likely to be offered employment (Pingitore, Dugoni, Tindale, & Spring, 1994); to participation in health care (Fontaine, Faith, Allison, & Cheskin, 1998) revealing that women with elevated body mass index (BMI) delayed preventative breast and gynaecological examinations longer than women whose BMI was within normal range.

Literature Review

Negative attributes and labels associated with obesity, such as 'laziness' and 'clumsiness' (Pierce & Wardle, 1997) appear to have pernicious effects on their recipients. Obese individuals respond to adverse stereotyping not only by implicitly accepting the attributes, but also display avoidant behaviour. The pervasive stigma attached to obesity may thus obstruct attempts to promote behaviour change in those already compromised by excess weight.

Health professionals have been encouraged to address the proliferation of obesity by adopting diverse strategies. Key to various approaches is the role of exercise, viewed as an essential component in any sustained weight loss programme either singularly, or in conjunction with dietary advice and altered food consumption. Exercise, as a lifestyle change, promotes sustained weight loss (Brownell, 1998; Donnelly et al., 2004), and is compared favourably with pharmacological interventions because of the latter's side effects (Dirckx, 1999).

Method

Participants

An opportunistic sample of 57 fitness professionals (gym instructors n=54, aerobics instructors n=3) from Central England participated. The sample comprised 32 males and 25 females, with a mean age of 29-30 years (SD=10.23) and a mean BMI of 24.09 (SD=4.77).

The sample of regular exercisers (n=56) were undergraduate students. Participants were 22 males and 34 females with a mean age of 20.67 years (SD=2.41) and a mean BMI of 22.08 (SD=3.14). The criteria for inclusion of regular exercisers were developed following from several fitness professionals and comprised engagement in gym-based exercise for three or more sessions per week, and for at least 30 min per ...