In my country (which is a poor one), we don't have public fitness programs. But there is fitness in an unusual way: To earn a living, most of us have to work very hard & this guarantees consumption of  body fat. Add to it, most of us do not eat luxury foods (which lead to obesity). The widespread foods,here, are chickpeas, black beans, and lentils (which are rich with proteins & poor in fats).

I like the idea of rewards for exercise but I don't think it would work here in the UK.  The British would be either outraged at such a suggestion or treat it as a joke.  

The public fitness programs are mainly the' jogathons, walkathons and runnathons', or modified public runs.  I did not see anything new just yet.. (I attach the link to Penang Starwalk.)

On Maslow's heirarchy of needs, many people are still working for physiological and safety needs, the 2 lower levels.  But the unusual thing is that obesity, diabetes Type 2 and associated diseases are quite prevalent, even among the well-educated.  Somehow, the knowledge in the minds didn't get transformed to affect the will to keep fit and healthy.  But thankfully, some of us put our knowledge into practice.

http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2013/09/15/Penang-Starwalk-2013/

We in the University of Jordan have regular fitness program for all. We also are working with the college of medicine and rehabilitation sciences on a program called Exercise is Medicine that is related to ACSM programs.

Nope!

In my country (which is a poor one), we don't have public fitness programs. But there is fitness in an unusual way: To earn a living, most of us have to work very hard & this guarantees consumption of  body fat. Add to it, most of us do not eat luxury foods (which lead to obesity). The widespread foods,here, are chickpeas, black beans, and lentils (which are rich with proteins & poor in fats).

In the U.S., obesity prevails almost as much as in Mexico.  Exercycles are starting to appear in workplaces of large corporations, but the practice is not as widespread as it could be, and the phenomenon of the obese corporative executive, while less common than before, surprises no one.  In universities, faculty is permitted to use athletic facilities at moderate fees. So trim professors do abound in my country. Yet I could not imagine the U.S. worker exercising in metro stations, because there is too much urgency about getting to work on time.

The goal of the Navy Fitness Program is to create "Fitness for Life" for the entire Navy population, including active-duty Sailors, family members, retirees and DoD civilians. Individual and group instruction is available from certified fitness professionals in cardiovascular conditioning, strength training, flexibility and nutrition.

http://www.navyfitness.org/fitness/

Dear Dr Nizar, it's good to hear from you the advantages of living a simple hard life.  Here, some people work very hard, when we aren't the favored majority.  Although a big majority of 1 million have emigrated to greener pastures, some of us have certain responsibilities that don't allow us to move off.  So we still do our duties, rendering to Caesar, the things that are Caesar's and rendering to God, what belongs to God.  So we keep fit through physical labor.  Most of the time, I walk rather than drive, in college, from lecture rooms to labs etc.  (But many of the favored people have been told by a previous Prime minister that they manage because of the crutches that are given them.)

Dear Nelson, here we don't have exercycles. But many firms have exercise facilities. You are lucky to have a heated pool, and I'm thankful that I have a great jogging track in college, and one more near my home.  Here, the public are encourage to participate in walking and cycling events, but it's mainly organized in large towns like KL and Penang.  Even though an important minister may be involved, it's rather sporadic.  (@Michael, what are your public keep fit programs in Thailand?)

Miranda, to answer your question: I'm afraid there are not many programs available here in terms of Mexico City - so, there aren't many incentives to stay fit. Of course, we have a nice track-and-flield environment on campus but it's the responsibility of the students to take action. The public might benefit as well if they find the way. If you happen to know Bangkok with its polluted environment, you'd probably stay away from any longer physical activities outside. Here in the north it's mainly some aerobics events starting at dusk and a recently opened fitness center but those are private activities.

Thank you for giving this kind of interesting information.

It is really necessary to start this type of fitness program.

Thank you Michael;  this is in important item. I like to bike to the university, 20 min. It keeps me in a better condition compared to using of  a public bus.   In Finland it is not so usual to bike, at least in winter time. There are so much cars driving here and there, with only one person in the vehicle. - Maybe we should give everyone, school children especially, free bikes. I would like to see more bikes driven by children. Teenagers use so much mopeds. They should train their muscles, joints, nerves, heads, learn to know birds, plants and so on - not mechanical driving devices. 

In my home town, every Saturday, the District Government conducting Car Free day, and the community can wall in freely around the botany garden in the center of the city.

Thanks for sharing your surroundings regarding fitness worldwide here.

Hengky S H, I hope the car free day is voluntary; otherwise, I'd have to walk for 15km in the heat of Thailand to the city center, where I work on Saturdays (OT) and back home.

The Mexican example intrigued me because it people receive incentives for exercising (a free ticket). There are many more ideas, I'm sure. 

My pleasure Michael, the program is conducted in Jakarta (The city of Indonesia) as well. Have a good day..! 

Hi,

wish we have such program in my country

Mauro, thanks for the interesting insights on this topic.

Could the involvement of the target group be strengthened by incentives, I was wondering? Is there any research on practical programs relating this part of the community programs?

Student groups in universities in Canada organize a wide range of holistic measures at a very subsidized recreation fee that encourages students to stay active and fit. Sometimes, this is entirely free of cost where tables are converted into ping pong boards and open invitations made to all students to join in. However, it is seen that most young and already fit students engage in it far more than older students do, as they are pressed for time, and already working professionals or parents, and mostly attending university to attend classes. Time is a huge factor and we need more concrete incentives and better support frameworks for overall community health. 

Sports Development Authority Of Tamilnadu VISION

• That everyone in Tamilnadu will develop a passion for physical fitness and sports.
• That every talented child will have an equal opportunity to develop and achieve excellence to the extent of his abilities.

http://www.tn.gov.in/rti/proactive/ywsd/handbook-SDA.pdf

Around our home townall

There is a garden where the community could jogging, play foot ball or just morning walk

@Mauro, thanks for this update!

I dont think the power generated by humans is a tradable amount.. you need about 10 people to produce 1kW and then only for 8 hours continiously. Look, we have done amazing things with manpower, however, this has become an expensive commodity. (Oil, coal and gas is much cheaper)

Perhaps the places of work should be in "walking only" districs and people have to walk between the station/bus stop/parkade and work. Imagine how much cleaner the air will be in cities! What's more, people will actually become more sociable, notice familiar faces and talk to one another.

Yes, David, and instead they 'walk lonely' and use battery power to mop their precious not so smart phones in an unsociable way contacting their 'friends' via 'social network services'. I'd prefer your kind of district.

In my University I was fond of dances, skiing and gymnastics- it was in the program.. We have required fitness program in our two gyms, pitch, swimming pool in Lyceum.I adore to do sports or dancing break with my students. Our sportsmen are in honor, they get additional marks to their state exams for their class in sports achievements.It encourages students to do sports. It's the medal of one of my students (1 place in the international fighting competition)

Irina, really great achievements you've gained so far. I'm sure you can continue your work and get rewarded by the public. How about government (federal or regional) programs fostering fitness of the population? I heard something about the Moscow underground giving some incentives for people who engage in exercises.

Dear Michael 

Unfortunately our cities become crowded and not friendly one so exercise in streets is very risky.

Dear Michael, to learn English in movements is very pleasant and merry during physical breaks. As for regional programs, it's an annual competition "Sports fame" in the frame of regional program "Development of Physical culture". It includes 11 nominations. Thus in 2014 A.Azarov (40 years in sports) was a winner in the nomination "Sports dedication" (he trained 80 KMS, 500 sportsmen with achievements in sports, being a prize-winner among the veterans of sambo). Our students prefer flash-mobs in the frame of city programs. you can see our students in the park, which is near our Lyceum. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOdoZt1VssM