Weight management has been earmarked as one of the mandated health promotion campaigns for 2021/2022 that pharmacies need to deliver as part of the PSNC contract. Obesity is also one of the risk factors for COVID-19 and pharmacy’s efforts to help customers reduce weight can help reduce the health burden. The Healthy Living Pharmacy (HLP) scheme helps bring all of these together and so your pharmacy is a prime place to help customers manage weight and keep active and to offer them products related to diet and fitness. This OTC expert in diet & fitness course will give you the knowledge and skills you need to do this.
What’s the aim of the OTC expert in diet & fitness course?
The diet and fitness course aims to help you provide clients with both recommended advice and products to manage weight and keep active.
The course outcome
Once you complete the course, you will have the ability to:
- Offer advice regarding the risks of being obese or overweight
- Assist customers in calculating their BMI (Body Mass Index)
- Offer advice to customers about fitness regimes and weight management programmes
- Recommend proper fitness as well as diet products
The OTC expert in diet & fitness course duration
You will only need about 15 minutes to complete this course. The included videos are optional and additional content that will assist you in accommodating various learning styles and help in enhancing the learning process.
What’s the importance of the OTC expert in diet & fitness course?
As a section of the PSNC contract, weight management has been considered among the mandated health promotion campaigns for the year 2021/22 that need to be delivered by pharmacists. Obesity has also been considered a risk factor for Covid-19. When pharmacists help customers to lose their weight they minimise the health burden.
The HLP (Healthy Living Pharmacy) scheme assists in combining all these. This makes your pharmacy a key place to assist clients to manage weight, stay active and also provide them with products associated with diet and fitness. You can rest assured that this course will equip you with the skills and knowledge needed to do this.
Covid-19 and Diet & Fitness
The presence of Covid-19 has continuously disrupted the way people live and their normal habits regarding diets and activities. Good examples include working from home, social distancing during gym workouts, and isolations for those who test positive for the virus. This has created a negative impact on general fitness.
Learn more about digestive health in our previous blog post here:
BECOME A DIGESTIVE HEALTH EXPERT
Excess weight
People have been affected differently by Coronavirus; some harder than others. A study done by Public Health England concluded that excessive weight or obesity increases the risk of being hospitalised due to Covid-19 and even death compared to people with a healthy BMI.
The report concludes further that offering support to people to help them in achieving and maintaining a healthy weight can minimise the serious effects caused by Covid-19 to the general population. This mostly applies to vulnerable people that are affected by obesity.
Vitamin D
The body produces vitamin D when you expose yourself to the sun. It’s a key player when it comes to boosting the immune system and staying protected against Covid-19. The UK is among the countries with the highest levels of deficiency in Europe. This affects almost a third of the people during winter. Vitamin D deficiency is also prevalent in adults suffering from diabetes and obesity.
Exercise, as explained in the OTC expert in diet & fitness course
During the coronavirus pandemic, exercise has been regarded as a vital factor when it comes to physical and mental wellbeing. People are being encouraged to continue staying active especially during lockdowns. All groups of people can now access recorded as well as live exercise videos online from the comfort of their homes. The gym equipment sector has grown tremendously! This shows that people are taking seriously the advice given as far as exercise and staying fit are concerned.
How to get involved as a pharmacy
The Government has increasingly turned to pharmacies to assist them in fighting unhealthy lifestyles through HLP and weight management services.
Pharmacies can also assist by supporting both local and national campaigns. You can also promote the involvement of your pharmacy in the campaigns by showing updated leaflets and posters, referring to the campaigns in your conversations. It’s important to watch the campaign adverts so that you can get prepared enough for any customer queries regarding the campaigns. You can also:
- Be watchful for campaign materials
- Download additional materials
- Display the materials
- Inform your customers about it
- Signpost
Contact us today for more information.
This blog post was written on behalf of Mediapharm by Pharmacy Mentor.