Fitness testing and counselling in health promotion

For the past 15 years the University of Ottawa has conducted on-site fitness assessments of over 5,000 federal public servants. The testing sessions and accompanying counselling session are conducted within a framework of health promotion to encourage managers to adopt a healthy lifestyle. The data collected on this population are quite unique since the managers represent a cross-section from across Canada, and it is an important source of information regarding associations among fitness, lifestyle, and health characteristics. The assessment includes a lifestyle and stress questionnaire, a 12-hour fasting lipid profile, determination of resting and exercise heart rate and blood pressure, body composition, upper body strength and muscular endurance, flexibility, pulmonary function, and aerobic power (Canadian Aerobic Fitness Test). Results are presented in a computerized format and interpreted during the course of a debriefing session; an exercise prescription is also provided. The sessions foster awareness, influence attitudes, and identify health behaviour alternatives. Not only can testing be used as a diagnostic and intervention procedure but it also serves as an excellent education and motivational tool that could be integrated in a routine medical examination.