The American Council on Exercise (ACE) is celebrating its 30th anniversary by strengthening its commitments to end obesity in the United States by 2035. The council provides education, certification and representation to fitness professionals, health coaches and wellness experts and is determined to fight the increasing obesity epidemic with next-generation approaches.
To celebrate its 30th anniversary, the ACE announced in a press release that it is committed to reinforcing its mission and helping to shape the country’s response to physical inactivity and preventable lifestyle diseases. Over two-thirds of Americans are currently obese according to the Journal of American Medicine, an epidemic that costs the nation more than $147 billion every year.
In response to this, ACE established a plan for the next 30 years, starting by improving access to physical activity, nutrition and behavior changes as preventive methods to reduce the gap between exercise and healthcare. The second goal is to maintain its services as a public researcher and watchdog to provide scientific information and resources that are also easy to understand.
In addition, ACE announced its commitment to advance the healthcare environment, securing collaborative work between well-qualified health and fitness professionals, health coaches and other members of healthcare teams in order to improve intervention services focused on prevention and wellness.
“We’re proud of the work we’ve done in the last 30 years and of our unwavering commitment to ensure people have access to professionals qualified to provide safe and effective physical activity and behavior modification strategies to help them live their most fit lives,” said president and CEO Scott Goudeseune. “There is still much more work to be done in shaping the nation’s response to reversing obesity and other preventable lifestyle-related diseases—which is why our efforts are more important than ever.”
ACE was founded in 1985 and has been a promoter of alterations in the health and fitness industry ever since. It currently works with over 58,000 certified professionals in 80 countries. The contributions of the council over the past 30 years include the creation of four exercise professional certification programs accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA).
The council also serves as a representative of fitness professionals alongside policy makers through its Advocacy Center, an important step that assists both workers and other parties better understand topics that influence the healthcare system. In addition, ACE was one of the founding members of the Coalition for the Registration of Exercise Professionals in 2013, a project meant to advance and protect fitness professionals by granting credentials that match the standards of excellence of other allied health professions.
