Canadian Forces Health and Physical Fitness Strategy

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Canadian Forces Health and Physical Fitness
Strategy
Dr. Darrell Menard OMM, MD, Dip Sport Med
26 June 2008 CF HP National WG in IP and AL
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Strategy Objective

• To create a culture of
• Health and Physical Fitness in the CF

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Three Key Strategy Concepts

• Leadership leadership at all levels are
  accountable and responsible for individual and
  unit health and physical fitness. Leadership by
  example.
• Motivation provide CF personnel with a
  meaningful reason to become and stay healthy and
  physically fit. No fitness! No promotion!
• Facilitation make it easier for CF personnel to
  adopt a lifestyle that improves their health and
  physical fitness.

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Five Key Messages

• Health and physical fitness are leadership issues

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Five Key Messages

• Health and physical fitness are essential
  components of operational readiness and mission
  success particularly in complex operational
  environments where conditions are mentally and
  physically demanding

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Five Key Messages

• The CF is committed to developing a culture of
  health and physical fitness in which all members
  of the community are physically active, eat well,
  maintain a healthy weight and live addictions free

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Five Key Messages

• Health and physical fitness are lifestyle
  choices with life enhancing benefits. Healthy
  and physically fit sailors, soldiers, airmen and
  airwomen are stronger, more resilient, experience
  a lower incidence of chronic disease, enjoy
  improved self confidence, have fewer injuries and
  are better able to withstand stress. These
  benefits make them more dependable, capable and
  effective comrades in arms.

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Five Key Messages

• The CF will help facilitate all CF personnel to
  adopt a lifelong commitment to healthy living.

Picture from http//aging.gemzies.com/photo/
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Important points

• The strategy ties health and physical fitness to
  operational readiness
• The strategy applies to reserves and regular
  force personnel
• The strategy is a long-term plan
• The strategy comes with resources
• Establishes a Director of Fitness and
  Environmental Fitness advisors

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Important points

• Stresses that CF personnel must be healthy,
  physically fit, employable and deployable at all
  times.
• Health and physical fitness are a responsibility
  shared by the leadership and the individual

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7 Lines of Operation

• 1 Shared Ownership
• Develop an accurate and timely injury
  surveillance system
• All boards will address physical fitness in merit
  and selection process

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7 Lines of Operation

• 2 Lifelong Lifestyle Commitment
• Develop injury prevention and physical fitness
  programs that take into account ageing and gender
  issues
• Conduct HLIS every 2 years

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7 Lines of Operation

• 3 Regular Physical Activity
• When possible, CF personnel should be given a
  minimum of 1hr/day to exercise
• Focus on safe and effective training not fitness
  testing
• Incorporate injury prevention and physical
  fitness education into all levels of CF training
• Develop an extreme sports program
• Development of remedial fitness training programs

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7 Lines of Operation

• 4 Healthy Nutrition
• 5 Healthy Weight
• 6 Addictions Free
• 7 Effective Governance
• All have an impact on injury rates and active
  living but will be beyond the mandate of our
  working group

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Concerns!

• ? activity - ? injury rates
• Last minute fitness preparation for fitness
  testing
• Over zealous leaders fertilizing their careers
  with the bodies of their troops

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Exercise is Medicine!
Picture from http//osaka2007.iaaf.org