By Ivan Curovic, Institute of Coaching and Performance, University of Central Lancashire, England, ICurovic@uclan.ac.uk
This blog is summarised from research conducted by Ivan and colleague, David Grecic. The full Open Access publication is available here and in the IPLA Research Resources pages.
According to current and future estimates for more than 160 countries, overweight and obesity could largely increase the economic burden in the next decades (Chong et al., 2023; Okunogbe et al., 2022), especially for Eastern Mediterranean countries for which the mortality from this cause may sharply rise by the year of 2030 (Chong et al., 2023). This highlights the need for concerted and holistic action to address the global rise in obesity prevalence (Okunogbe et al., 2022). In the past, engagement in sports was promoted to increase physical activity levels (Weed, 2018). However, there is no evidence that these promotions resulted in improved activity for general population (Weed, 2018). The focus has now shifted from sports promotion to exercise promotion (Thompson et al., 2020) and exercise practitioners are seen as a fundamental (Albert et al., 2020; Muth et al., 2015) but underutilised resource by healthcare professionals to provide help for those in need (Albert et al., 2020).
A Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends for 2022 revealed that “employing certified fitness professionals” and “licensure for fitness professionals” were both listed in top 20 on the list (Thompson, 2022). Furthermore, countries like the US and China are prioritising fitness to combat the obesity epidemic (Chen et al., 2019; Gibson et al., 2024), while the UK could soon see a newly established health profession called clinical exercise physiology (Jones et al., 2021) to address the “muscle-strengthening exercise epidemiology” with the aim to prevent chronic diseases (Bennie et al., 2020). This suggests that exercise specialists may be the next generation of health professionals with a noted responsibility towards general health on a global scale. These practitioners could be seen as agents of physical literacy for adults which is why they need to be well equipped with knowledge not only on how to effectively train people, but also on how to motivate them, teach them, and provide them with the understanding of how to make healthier lifestyle choices outside of gym space (Curovic & Grecic, 2025).
A related question is does physical pducation (PE) prepare future adults to be competent and confident in using the gym equipment, to create exercise/fitness plans for themselves, and understand the benefits of improved strength and aerobic power? Should exercise literacy become a significant part of a physical literacy concept particularly during the final years of PE, to chime with teenagers’ increasing interest in elevating their confidence – such as by improving aesthetic appearance and functional abilities? Considerations such as time barriers and the fast dynamics of everyday life, as well as the fact that muscles are increasingly evidenced as endocrine organs that produce chemicals with systemic benefits for multiple health outcomes(Leal et al., 2018; Schnyder & Handschin, 2015), this motivational window might be essential to equip students for future healthy lifestyles, when other motivating factors become more prevalent (e.g., health and wellbeing).
These lifestyles may not rely solely on sports activities but rather on a willingness to choose an outdoor exercise (such as walking or jogging) or visit the nearest gym with the knowledge of what to do and how to do it. In the case of the latter, perhaps the profession of a personal trainer (PT) could take a different form. Our recent qualitative paper on the perspective of high-level personal trainers (Curovic & Grecic, 2025) revealed that exerciser-centred approaches, in which a professional adapts to a client’s psychosocial features to increase their motivation, by nurturing knowledge on the importance of exercise (cognitive approach), thereby creating a positive training atmosphere (social approach), provided the most fruitful results. In fact, most of the interviewed trainers emphasised that their success is ultimately reflected in their clients’ ability to maintain a fitness routine independently, without needing to rely on them anymore, as well as in their clients’ desire to make positive lifestyle changes outside of gym spaces as a result of working with them (Curovic & Grecic, 2025). This was in agreement with 148 personal training clients who highlighted the PT’s role in providing the motivation for exercise adherence by being holistically oriented (i.e., biopsychosocial perspective) (Curovic & Grecic, 2024).
Physical literacy, defined as “the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge and understanding to value and take responsibility for engagement in physical activities for life” (IPLA, 2017), is a quality that any person, at any life stage and in any circumstance, can improve upon (Sport Australia, 2019). This raises the question of whether greater emphasis on fitness and exercise literacy in the final years of PE could better prepare young people to confidently and independently engage in fitness activities throughout life. This seems increasingly necessary in an era when time barriers and challenges of managing daily schedules often discourage consistent participation in structured sports activities that demand more time and organisational effort.
References
Bennie, J. A., Shakespear-Druery, J., & De Cocker, K. (2020). Muscle-strengthening Exercise Epidemiology: A New Frontier in Chronic Disease Prevention. Sports Medicine – Open, 6(1), 40. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40798-020-00271-w
Chen, P., Li, F., & Harmer, P. (2019). Healthy China 2030: Moving from blueprint to action with a new focus on public health. The Lancet Public Health, 4(9), e447. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(19)30160-4
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Curovic, I., & Grecic, D. (2025). High-level personal trainer perspective for industry practice and development in Serbia: A qualitative descriptive study. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2025.1549979
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