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The following is a question by the Hon Sophie Leung and a written reply by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr David Lan, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):

Question :

It is reported that a person died from a suspected heart attack recently after practising jogging for 10 minutes in a privately run fitness club. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) of the number of privately run clubs or fitness centres in Hong Kong (referred to collectively as "fitness centres" hereinafter) equipped with fitness equipment; and whether it knows the total number of fitness coaches currently employed by such fitness centres and among them, the number who have undergone professional training;

(b) whether there is legislation requiring persons engaged as fitness coaches must have undergone professional training; if not, whether the authorities have any plans to formulate such legislation; and

(c) whether it knows the proportion of fitness centres which provide medical examinations for new members to the total number of fitness centres in Hong Kong; and the items covered by such medical examinations; and whether the authorities will consider formulating legislation requiring fitness centres to provide medical examinations for new members?

Reply :

Madam President,

(a)The Office of the Licensing Authority, Home Affairs Department is responsible for the licensing of privately run clubs (with or without fitness centres) in Hong Kong. At present, 46 privately run clubs with fitness equipment or fitness centres are licensed under the Clubs (Safety of Premises) Ordinance. The licensing system mainly serves to regulate the building safety and fire installations of the clubs. Hence, we do not have any data on the total number of fitness coaches currently employed by such fitness centres or the number of coaches who have received professional training.

(b)There is no legislation requiring that persons engaged as fitness coaches must have undergone professional training. The Government is aware that the number of clubs with fitness centres has been on the increase. We will keep a close watch on fitness centres and consider formulating such legislation for monitoring purposes if necessary.

The Hong Kong Physical Fitness Association, an affiliated member of the Amateur Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, is the governing body for physical fitness training in Hong Kong. The Association organizes various training courses (e.g. aerobic dance, resistance training, hydro-fitness and elderly fitness) for physical fitness instructors. Persons who have undergone training organized by the Association and passed its assessment are regarded as qualified instructors. There are at present some 1000 qualified instructors.

(c) We are aware that some privately run fitness centres provide medical examinations for new members. Such examinations include the measurement of height, weight, blood pressure, fat, the rate of heartbeat, etc. However, owing to the reasons stated in (a) above and the fact that fitness centres are not required to inform the Government whether medical examinations are provided for new members, we do not have data on the number of fitness centres which provide such examinations and their proportion to the total number of fitness centres in Hong Kong.

I have consulted the Secretary for Health and Welfare and Director of Health on the issue. In their opinion, people should exercise their own judgement and consult their doctors to ensure that they are fit enough for the exercises. Doctors generally advise that those who seldom exercise should seek medical advice before taking part in any training programmes involving strenuous exercises. As for those who have health problems, they should also consult their doctors before doing any exercise. At present, the Government will not consider formulating legislation requiring fitness centres to provide medical examination for new members.

END/Wednesday, January 13, 1998

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