Where have we been, where are we now, where are we going?

We live in a paradoxical World, where we know more about the effects of exercise in enhancing well being yet we cannot control in developed nations to spiralling increase in adult and childhood obesity with attendant implications for acute and chronic health, such as muscular skeletal problems, cardiovascular disease, some cancers, sleep apnoea, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension (Australian Government Department of Health and Aging, 2010). In the 1960’s in Australia, childhood obesity was estimated to be 5%, whereas in 2004 2005 it is estimated to be 25%. These negative health outcomes are exacerbated by inactivity now identified
as the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality (World Health Organization, 2010). Where we are today is paralleling this pandemic in obesity and inactivity. There are currently no Australian guidelines for physical activity and weight loss (Australians Government, Measure Up, 2010), however the World Health Organization (2010, p.7 8) does provide “global recommendations on physical activity for health.” The predictions for the future Australians are catastrophic. “Each Australian aged 20–74 years who dies from obesity between 2011 and 2050 will lose, on average, 12 years of life before the age of 75 years. If we just stabilise obesity at current levels, we can prevent the premature death of a half a million people between now and 2050 (National Preventative Health Strategy Overview, 2009). The future will have to mobilise all the highly trained specialists from exercise and sports science programs, whether VET or higher education to solve Australia’s overweight and inactivity epidemic and related unsustainable health burden. Developing effective strategies is the new horizon in exercise and sport science.