August 2008 -- Question: Everyone realizes that we have a major problem in our society right now with obesity. Can you please provide some detail on the role that tennis, and specifically USPTA, can play in the raging battle on improving people's health?
Answer: Without doubt, we are in the midst of waging a war on inactivity and obesity! In fact, this is one of the most urgent issues facing all of us today! Health care costs have become astronomical, the number of children who are overweight and obese is at an all-time high, and we have basically become a sedentary society. First, let's examine the truth about what is happening.
We have to begin this treatise by realizing that it is not necessarily about learning how or why to become more active, or how to eat better. Over 12 years ago, news broadcasts were citing how America was the most knowledgeable and informed society in the world, yet we were - and still are - among the most obese. According to USPTA Master Professional Jim Annesi, Ph.D., a leading researcher in health behavior change and director of Wellness Advancement for the YMCA of Metropolitan Atlanta, being physically active is the most important predictor of keeping weight off. Annesi said that "95 percent of American adults can name multiple reasons why more physical activity is needed in their lives but that only 3.5 percent are active for the minimal amount of five days a week, 30 minutes per session." That is a frightening statistic! Annesi is highlighting the fact that it's going to take more than just information on the need to be physically active to get reliable change.
It seems that our society faces two very pressing challenges: (1) stopping and reversing the trends for people who are already overweight or obese (helping the sick improve their health) and (2) changing the sedentary habits of people in general so they stop gravitating toward being overweight (keeping healthy people from becoming sick).
Part 1 of your question: What role does tennis play?
According to USPTA member Michael Bergeron, Ph.D., newly named director of the National Institute for Youth Sports and Health in Sioux Falls, S.D., "Without question, regular participation in tennis can play a significant role in enhancing and maintaining health. Cardiorespiratory fitness, total cholesterol and serum lipids associated with cardiovascular health and risk, body composition, whole-body and regional bone mineral content and density, and general and functional muscular strength, endurance, and power can all be improved and maintained at healthy levels through regular tennis competition and training. With readily accessible facilities in almost all communities and the myriad opportunities for participation at all ages and levels of skill, tennis is a perfect way for children and adults to have fun and meet the recommended physical activity and energy expenditure guidelines for a healthy lifestyle."
Annesi supports this in his well-researched work on the efficacy of exercise, comparing what is learned in tennis to a program of health improvement. "As in the development of one's tennis game, a very productive strategy (to improve one's self-management) would be to (1) set a long-term goal, (2) break that down into a series of short-term goals, (3) create a plan of action (such as lessons or directed practice), and (4) look to checkpoints for incremental progress." Following these four points, he continued by noting that "goal setting in this manner builds a sense of self-efficacy (a sense of confident ability) that is a critical predictor of progress, and the ability to sustain that progress. Planning a strategy, and attaining a short-term goal, gives one the sense that they are in control - be it in tennis or improving one's health!" Learning the game of tennis, in other words, can become the delivery mechanism for habit change in improving one's health.
Now, to finish the above question: What is the role of the USPTA-certified professional? I believe the answer has to do with the environment that we can create for learning and exercise in each of our communities. In
USA Today (May 29, 2008), Dr. Walt Thompson, chair of the panel that created the American Fitness Index, said, "This epidemic of obesity is catching up with us, and one way we can combat it is to provide an environment where kids and families can exercise." My response to this is: What better way than to get involved in USPTA's infrastructure of Little Tennis, private lessons, adult leagues, or drill groups with your USPTA-certified teaching professional!
Just as an example, let's discuss our new alliance with the American College of Sports Medicine. Bergeron, of the National Institute for Youth Sports and Health and a fellow and trustee in ACSM, feels that "USPTA-certified professionals can play an integral role in improving health for those in their community by developing a partnership with local physicians and other health-care providers, so that tennis is recognized as an attractive and appropriate opportunity for people to get active and enhance their health." But, don't stop with your local physicians. Alliances can be made with parks and recreation personnel, YMCAs, YWCAs, and on and on.
I would be remiss if I didn't note that, with this incredibly positive excitement about what tennis can do for our respective communities, comes a big responsibility. Bergeron said it very well by noting that USPTA-certified professionals now "have the responsibility to provide appropriate and sufficient physical activity and energy expenditure in their lessons and activities (while still teaching the game), so that everyone can achieve measurable health and fitness advantages."
Annesi, the behavior-change researcher, observed that to help people improve their overall health "USPTA professionals should structure lessons so that the four-phase goal-setting process mentioned earlier in this column is a regular activity. Just like in the thoughtful development of a tennis skill, we must establish a sense of physical competence, as well as the resources to adapt to challenging conditions, to have tennis rightly viewed as a viable, enjoyable health-promotion strategy."
The information available to us on how tennis can be a major part of the arsenal in the war on inactivity and people becoming overweight to the point of obesity is indeed exciting. Let's all become USPTA Ambassadors and get connected in our communities. For example, I am sure there are physicians and other community leaders who play at your facility. Share with them the brochures and booklet for
Tennis - for the health of it!??
SM Ask them to help you network in your community and refer people to you. I know your business will grow, so the USPTA brand will grow, and our great game of tennis will grow! So, let's SPREAD THE WORD!
Send questions to jgroppel@LGEPerformance.com.
