Fitness Australia, the trade body for Australia’s fitness industry, plans to run a nationwide seminar programme this year to encourage fitness professionals to advise their clients not only to exercise more, but to eat better.

Sports Dieticians Australia will play a key role in the delivery of the programme, which will target around 12,000 accredited fitness professionals and is part of the organisation’s Active for Life initiative.

Launched in December 2003, the initiative is one of the largest promotional exercises ever undertaken through Fitness Australia.

The A$150,000 scheme is funded by the Australian sugar industry, which wants to educate people on the role of sugar and carbohydrates in the diet of active people.

As well as the seminar programme, the initiative involves the distribution of 300,000 information booklets through Fitness Australia-recognised fitness centres and personal training studios.

Written by Sports Dieticians Australia, the booklets contain advice on balancing food intake and exercise.

There is also an Active for Life website, which provides additional information and links to other authoritative sources and references for health and fitness.

Consumers can get a basic assessment of the state of their health with online calculators to determine body mass, exercise target heart rates and daily calorie needs.