Government to certify gym instructors
People workout in a gym recently. Starting a gym business requires commitment and planning. FILE PHOTO
What you need to know:
- Results from the Uganda NCD risk factor survey, 2014 indicates that high physical inactivity was noted especially in urban population where eight per cent of adults were considered physically inactive compared to 3.5 per cent among the rural population.
KAMPALA: Government has started certifying all physical activity instructors across the country, Ministry of Health has revealed.
While addressing journalists in Kampala on Tuesday ahead of the National Day of Physical Activity, Dr Ruth Jane Aceng, the Health Minister said that a number of people have attained injuries from gyms due to unskilled instructors.
“We encourage people to use instructors who are certified and who have the skills. We are cognizant of the fact that not all the instructors in the country have the skills and are certified and many people have got injuries from gyms and some of them permanent injuries. However, working together with the Ministry of education and sports, we have begun the process of certifying instructors and ensuring that we use instructors who are skilled,’’ Dr Aceng said.
Mr Patrick Muinda the public relations officer, in the Ministry of Education and Sports, said all teachers in accredited teaching institutions are issued with certificates upon qualification.
Currently, Ministry of Health is developing the National Physical Activity guidelines as a mechanism to promote physical activities to fight Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in the country.
“The guidelines will clearly indicate the number of hours that is important for you to engage in physicals, it will also give guidance on what activity is good for different parts of your body such as the neck, and for how long you have to do it for you to get the impact that we want you to have,” Dr Aceng said.
Physical inactivity is reported as the fourth leading risk factor for death globally causing six per cent of deaths worldwide.
Results from the Uganda NCD risk factor survey, 2014 indicates that high physical inactivity was noted especially in urban population where eight per cent of adults were considered physically inactive compared to 3.5 per cent among the rural population.
The survey indicated that females are less active compared to their male counterparts (women 4.9 per cent, men 3.7 per cent).
