All employees, not just those with a physically demanding occupation, should take part in a health-related fitness program. The program's goal is to improve the health and quality of life of all employees. Health-related fitness consists of the following:

Aerobic fitness—Aerobic activity engages large muscle groups in sustained activities such as walking, running, cycling, swimming, crosscountry skiing, rowing, paddling, or similar activities. Ideally, the activity should serve a purpose.

Muscular Fitness—Fitness ensures that you have enough strength, muscular endurance, and flexibility to carry out your daily tasks with vigor and alertness, and with the capacity to meet unforeseen emergencies. All employees should engage in core fitness training to prevent back problems. Weight training should be used to prevent injuries and to provide the strength and endurance you need for your favorite activities (such as leg strength and endurance for mountain biking or skiing).

Body Composition—One way to reduce the risk of becoming overweight, or of developing heart disease or diabetes is to maintain a body mass index (BMI) from 19 to 25 (figure 3.1), a healthy waist-to-hip ratio (figure 3.2), and a waist circumference of less than 40 inches for men and 35 inches for women.

Figure 3.1—Body mass index chart. Reprinted, with permission, from B.J. Sharkey
and S.E. Gaskill, 2007, Fitness & Health, 6th ed. (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics), 242.

Figure 3.2—Waist-to-hip ratio. Reprinted, with permission,
from B.J. Sharkey and S.E. Gaskill, 2007, Fitness & Health,
6th ed. (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics), 249.
For a long description of the image click on the image.

A health-related fitness program can be pursued at the work site, in a commercial health club, or wherever the employee chooses. Health fairs and periodic tests can help keep employees motivated. While some organizations use incentives to encourage participation, long-term involvement depends on your intrinsic motivation, exercising because it is meaningful and essential for your health and quality of life.

Physical Activity and Health

Researchers at the Human Population Laboratory of the California Department of Health published a list of habits associated with health and longevity, including:

• Regular physical activity
• Adequate sleep
• A good breakfast
• Regular meals
• Weight control
• Abstinence from smoking and drugs
• Moderate use of (or abstinence from) alcohol

The study found that men could add 11 years to their lives and women could add 7 years by following any six of the seven habits.

Activity Recommendations

In 1995 the American College of Sports Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control recommended that every American should accumulate 30 to 60 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity most days of the week. Nine years later (2004) the Institute of Medicine extended this recommendation to 60 or more minutes of moderate activity in order to increase caloric
expenditure and slow the growing epidemic of obesity. Now two-thirds of the adult population in the United States is overweight or obese.

The 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, provides the following recommendations (http://www.health.gov/paguidelines/faqs.aspx#Question5).

• Adults should do 2 hours and 30 minutes a week of moderate-intensity, or 1 hour and 15 minutes (75 minutes) a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity. Aerobic activity should be performed in episodes of at least 10 minutes, preferably spread throughout the week.
  
  
• Additional health benefits are provided by increasing to 5 hours (300 minutes) a week of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity, or 2 hours and 30 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity physical activity, or an equivalent combination of both.
  
  
• Adults should also do muscle-strengthening activities that involve all major muscle groups performed on 2 or more
  days per week.

Those who use a pedometer should get at least 10,000 steps per day to meet the minimum activity recommendation. See
appendixes A, B, G, H, and I to help you get started on a lifelong activity program.

Core Training

Core training focuses on the central portion of the body, providing a solid foundation for performance and health. Strong and balanced trunk muscles (abdominal, back, chest, shoulder, and hip muscles) allow workers to transfer power better when they're using their arms and legs. Well-trained core muscles distribute the forces of hard work, reducing the risk of injury. All
employees should engage in a core training program (see appendix G for core training exercises).