this, clients do expect health and nutrition advice from their REP.
However, there is little research available on the practices and provision
of nutrition advice, an important health education component in lifestyle
modification, by REPs. Such information is critical to assist decision
making in terms of professional scope of practice.
The current Australian national training package for the training of
REPs includes only one unit of nutrition-based competency at Certificate
III level. This competency is the basis for the scope of practice draft
document guide for REPs including ‘Provision of general non-medical
nutrition information in accordance with nationally endorsed evidence
based guidelines. The advice and information provided is general and not
individually tailored’ (Fitness Australia, 2013). Given the large population
served by REPs, the interpretation and compliance with this statement
may have significant professional and legal implications that could
surface unless appropriate measures are developed to better define and
enforce this scope.
Methods: A survey of REPs was conducted over a five-month period
using an online survey service. The majority of questions were closedended to facilitate the administration of the questionnaire and subsequent
data analysis. Questions were clustered by content to facilitate memory.
Demographic variables sought included gender and age, plus selfreported body mass and height. Experience and education variables
included years worked in the fitness industry, academic qualifications and
hours of additional industry-based nutrition training completed. Feedback
was sought on sources of nutrition information used by REPs, plus their
confidence in these sources of information.
Results: Males attended significantly more nutrition training than
females (p = 0.048). Forty per cent of all REPs completed no additional
nutrition related education after graduation. Eighty-eight per cent of all
respondents provided nutrition advice to their clients, with no significant
difference between male and female respondents (p = 0.709). There
was no significant difference between those with nutrition and dietetic
qualifications in the manner in which they provided advice. The number of
males who worked in group environments was significantly greater than
that of females (p = 0.001).
Discussion: The primary finding of this investigation is that the
majority of REPs who completed the questionnaire provide individual
dietary advice to their clients, including advice relating to underlying
medical conditions (i.e. medical nutrition therapy), suggesting
this is common practice within the industry. This clearly breaches
REPs scope of professional practice, which limits advice to the
provision of general non-medical nutrition information in accordance
with nationally endorsed evidence-based guidelines that is not
individually tailored. This is concerning given exercise professionals
training curriculum has limited nutrition education and the majority
undertake no (40 per cent) or limited (25 per cent) post-fitness
course nutrition-specific professional development opportunities.
This reinforces a need for the industry to enforce clearly defined
professional boundaries and facilitate a collaborative multi-discipline
approach to client servicing in order to deliver a holistic approach to
lifestyle modification and favourable fitness and health outcomes.
An understanding of the background and current practices of
REPs regarding their interaction with clients is essential in order to
systematically assess thei r relevance as health education facilitators.
It is important to note that individuals who access the services of REPs
may already be motivated to change their health behaviours and seek
support and health-related information. Such information in many cases
may be the only health education they get, due to time constraints or
limited health professional availability. Indeed the literature indicates the
value of REPs in supporting healthy outcomes related to diseases such
as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. With nearly three million people
currently served by the fitness industry in Australia, this could provide a
feasible communication and education channel for health care through
direct support services. These services, however, should be within a
clearly defined scope of professional practice and in collaboration with
68 | NETWORK AUTUMN 2015
other specialised health service providers.
The data suggests exercise professionals may be motivated to
further develop skills in coaching, providing advice and educating
clients. More than 50 per cent of respondents had at least 5 years’
experience and a further 25 per cent had more than 10 years’
experience within the profession. A quarter (25.9 per cent) of
respondents reported having both an undergraduate degree and
more than 5 years’ experience. This suggests that the exercise
professional occupation may have long term career pathways
and may enable individuals to remain in the industry and further
enhance their skills as both exercise professionals and health
educators. Commitment to professional development and years of
experience may result in improved communication skills, and this
may further enhance the potential of exercise professionals to act
as health educators – but the foundation knowledge of the exercise
professional to carry this out is yet to be determined. The nutrition
knowledge and skills of exercise professionals warrants investigation
to better understand their potential role as educators and public
health resources focused on healthy nutrition issues.
While there appears to be an increasing public demand placed
on the exercise professional to offer nutrition advice, there is limited
evidence on the nutrition competency skills of REPs in offering
individual dietary advice. The development of additional competencies
in the communication and provision of health information and problem
solving of clients’ lifestyle choices, as well as educating clients
regarding the misconceptions about healthy eating, could be facilitated
through curriculum adjustments in REPs training programs (i.e.
Certificate III and IV packages). Given this, clearly defined professional
boundaries must be promoted and encouraged for REPs and other
members of the health care team in lifestyle education of clients. This,
in conjunction with a more collaborative approach to client servicing,
will result in more favourable health and fitness outcomes.
Conclusion: While exercise professionals appear to be well
placed to influence and improve health through exercise and health
education, the results from this study indicate the majority of REPs
respondents do not have adequate training or experience to provide
the nutritional advice sought by the public. Based on these findings,
it is recommended that the nutrition advice provided to REPs during
training be limited to general non-medical nutrition information in
accordance with nationally endorsed evidence-based guidelines,
and that issues pertaining to scope of practice be addressed, and
onward referral to other health professionals advocated.
Fitness Research is a partnership between Australian Fitness
Network, the University of the Sunshine Coast and the Australian
Institute of Fitness. Its mission is to improve the health of
Australians through an improved body of fitness knowledge.
Access current and back issues of the Journal of Fitness
Research at fitnessresearch.com.au/journal
INSPIRING GREATNESS
10 TO 12 APRIL 2015
MELBOURNE CONVENTION & EXHIBITION CENTRE
Fitness Research’s Dr Mark McKean shares his scientific
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• Current training trends under the microscope (C2F)
• The real deal: evidence-based strength training (C3E)
Head to filex.com.au to check out the session details, full
program info and to register for the best weekend on the
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