Test finds the unfit

Press, 20 February 1980, Page 6

Test finds the unfit

If people had to have a warrant of fitness to walk about, only 43 per cent of the Christchurch population would get out of bed in the morning. Members of the Seventh Day Adventist Church have set up a “peopletesting station” at Northlands shopping mall, and were busy yesterday putting shoppers through their paces. Mr K. Price, communications officer of the church, said that on Monday, the first day of testing, 175 people passed through the station, but only 43 per cent passed their “personal warrant of fitness.”

People queued at the mall yesterday to be tested. At the first booth, »■ form must be filled giving age, sex, and knowledge about nutrition and physical exercise. At the second booth, weight, height, and blood pressure are recorded on a card.

In the third booth, participants are asked to ride an exercycle for five minutes. Their pulse is taken twice to see how the heart reacts to exercise.

Next is the grip test, in which a machine is gripped tightly in the hand and records the strength of arm muscles. A lungcapacity test requires people to give a long, slow breath into * tube to test capacity, and a short, sharp burst of breath to record the force with which the lungs can inhale and exhale. Marks for each test are recorded on a score card. A nurse sums up the results and gives a diagnosis. Most people yesterday were told to lose weight, stop smoking, or take regular exercise. If the nurse finds a worrying symptom such as high blood pressure, a trip to the doctor is recommended.

Smokers, the over-

weight, and the sedentary are also encouraged to attend classes organised by the church for people who want to stop smoking, lose weight, or get fit.

Mr Price said that the people-testing station was designed as preventive medicine and to heighten health awareness in the community. The booth will be at the Northlands shopping mall until Friday, when it will move to another part of Christchurch. It will move round the South Island for the rest of this year.

Six young volunteers and two trained nurses man the station and answer inquiries about diet and exercise. Rows of fascinated businessmen, housewives, grandparents, and shop owners stood in line at lunchtime yesterday for the free health check, but most will have to make a few running repairs before they' are declared roadworthy.