Australia is in the midst of a health crisis, the key drivers of poor health (metabolic, musculo-skeletal and mental) are, in the main personally-generated due to the lack of fitness (aerobic, strength and flexibility) and diets loaded with sugar and manufactured food.

The Commonwealth, state and territory governments continue to ignore the crisis, throwing more and more money into the medical system to subsidize treatments, some of which fail to treat the underlying causes of the problems.

Most people don’t know how poor their health is. Few people ever have their physical fitness measured. No-one is keep statistics on fitness – aerobic, strength or flexibility. The only indications that they are in poor condition is that they are over-weight; (apparently that doesn’t bother them) or they have back pain (which they put up with), or their doctor says their blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose ‘numbers’ are too high.

Doctors don’t measure, manage or monitor the physical fitness of their clients – they’re either sick or un-sick, that’s all.

An estimated 75% of people are sick (or at least unhealthy) but don’t know it. They only go to the doctor when the symptoms become unbearable.

In the main fitness centres don’t measure, manage or monitor fitness either.

No-one is collecting or storing data on aerobic fitness, strength or flexibility. There is a gaping hole in the bowels of My Health Record!

The fitness industry is catering for less than 20% of adults (many of whom train only once a week or less) and, in the main, has been slow to cater for ‘regular folks’ of all ages, shapes and sizes, particularly those in poor physical condition.

A proportion of people have their own exercise regimes or play sport. But the bulk of people don’t exercise at all.

Any move to get more people exercising regularly will be enhanced by incentives. Currently health incentives (in the form of Medicare subsidies) encourage people to visit their doctor when they are sick or in pain. Incentives to encourage people to keep themselves fit are not yet on the radar.

A medical system will not work unless there is a fitness system to go with it, where the right to universal care is attended by the reciprocal obligation on the part of individuals to keep themselves fit and healthy to the best of their ability.