Closure of gyms causes more harm than good

JOHANNESBURG. — The continued closure of gyms and health clubs in South Africa under government’s current lockdown regulations is rapidly becoming a battle between fighting bigger or lesser evils.

That’s according to Mannee de Wet, managing director of Planet Fitness, who believes there’s “no reason why the industry can’t find a balance” between safety and resuming services.

Currently, gyms are only slated to re-open at level one lockdown, a date thought to be closer to the start of September, though lobbying and engagement is on the increase.

“The importance of getting people into a routine of exercise is only going to become more vital during the Covid-19 pandemic,” De Wet told a Wits Sport webinar.

“According to some of the research we’ve consulted, approximately 5,3 million people die per year because of diseases related to a lack of physical activity. If you look at that in relation to deaths worldwide, which stand (at 471 000), it’s a difficult situation. It’s becoming a case preventing a lesser evil and what we’re trying to do.”

In its latest edition, leading medical journal The Lancet Global Health published a comprehensive descriptive study of 168 countries’ physical activity data over a 15-year period and how many premature deaths were avoided.

The results were significant.

Authors concluded that 3,9 million lives are saved annually through regular physical exercise.

Notably, that’s merely a conservative estimate. Adding ammunition to local gyms’ case for re-opening is the finding that Africa has the highest “prevented fraction” median of 16,6 percent, a figure that increases to 17,9 percent in low-income countries.

In other words, poorer countries benefit the most from having initiatives in place that promote regular physical exercise, which includes gyms.

“There’s research that indicates one week of no exercise leads to a 3% drop in a person’s overall fitness levels. Add that over a three-month lockdown period and it becomes quite significant,” said Mark Field, managing director of Virgin Active.

“We as an industry do have a role to play because there’s a limit to outdoor exercising, particularly for a country in winter where there’s the added risk of simply picking up a cold. Some people simply don’t have the facilities for that. The industry needs to step up and get South Africa healthy again.”

Other health considerations are also vital to the debate. — Sport24.