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The National Center for Health Fitness - Strategically located in northwest Washington, D.C. on the campus of American University is the National Center for Health Fitness (NCHF). Established in 1980, the NCHF was organized to provide leadership for the nation in the area of health risk identification and life-style improvement.

Organizational Mission - The NCHF seeks to stay abreast of the growing and changing needs of the health fitness profession, to stay at the forefront of the nation's health fitness issues, and to maintain the NCHF's leadership position as the premiere health and fitness academic center. In the process of striving to achieve these goals, the NCHF has made significant contributions in the area of:

Master of Science in Health Promotion Management - Closely related to the NCHF is the Master of Science program tailored to produce health fitness professionals in business, industry, and government. The multidisciplinary curriculum integrates managerial skills, scientific and clinical knowledge of exercise physiology, human physiological chemistry, behavioral psychology, and nutrition. This innovative program, recognized both nationally and internationally, has received the Professional Preparation Award from the Association of Worksite Health Promotion. The program accepts approximately twenty students annually and graduates about the same number each year. In the fall of 1997, a new bachelors degree in health promotion is available.

NCHF Faculty and Staff - The leadership of the NCHF has strived for 15 years to recruit and develop a cadre of staff, faculty, consultants, and students who are second to none in the field of health and fitness. Through the development of a team-like atmosphere, timely research projects, and quality services, the NCHF has gained the reputation as one of the foremost educational and research centers in the world. The NCHF staff has been responsible for achievements encompassing all phases of wellness programming, including design, delivery, management, and evaluation. The NCHF maintains full and part-time staff with expertise in:

As founder and Executive Director of the NCHF, Dr. Robert Karch is one of the nation's foremost authorities on the development and promotion of health and fitness programs. His expertise includes the management, development, and economic evaluation of employee fitness programs, health care reform issues, the physiology of exercise, the psychology of sport, and educating and training of leaders and professionals in the health fitness industry. Dr. Karch has been widely recognized for his accomplishments, receiving awards from American University, the U.S. Army, and the U.S. Jaycees.

NCHF Programmatic Areas - The NCHF is dedicated to innovation, leadership, and excellence in four primary programmatic areas:

Advanced educational Programs serve the needs of professional groups, clubs, and athletic teams through lectures, training, and certification programs.

State-of-the-Art Research focuses on worksite health promotion (WSHP) evaluation, including cost benefit and cost effectiveness of health and fitness programs. Both public and private sector clients have been served. Professional Publications encompass custom-tailored newsletters for employees and participants of NCHF managed health fitness programs, contributions to professional journals, preparations of strategic plans and technical reports, as well as presentations at international and national conferences.

Diversified Community Services including health screening, fitness assessment, and health education is offered to private clients, small businesses, and the University community.

The accompanying figure exhibits the NCHF scope of work and organizations served.

Facilities - Within the 6,000 sq ft space occupied by the NCHF in Nebraska Hall is an office suite and a human performance laboratory with state of the art diagnostic equipment for the assessment of cardiovascular fitness, pulmonary function, and a modern hydrostatic weighing facility. This space also features an audio/visual recording studio for the production of health fitness promotional materials. In addition to the main center on campus, the NCHF operates several off-campus facilities. These facilities are worksite and community health and fitness centers, which provide students with numerous learning opportunities.

Research - Today business managers are forced to make difficult decisions surrounding the crippling escalation of health care costs and associated benefits. Although many progressive organizations have implemented WSHP to combat rising health care costs, the value of WSHP is still widely contested. The NCHF has tackled a number of research projects embracing this problem. Results of this research suggest that effective WSHP programming leads to reductions in health risk, absenteeism, health claims, as well as increases in productivity. The widespread publication and distribution of these findings could have a substantial impact on controlling business overhead and operating efficiency as corporate organizations turn more to WSHP.

New Initiatives - The NCHF intends to continue offering a full spectrum of health fitness services including the design, implementation, management, and evaluation of WSHP programs, sustaining a wealth of practical experience for the students pursuing the Master of Science degree in Health Fitness Management. To address the corporate concern for improved understanding of WSHP effectiveness and its ability to deliver a favorable return, the NCHF plans to further enhance it comprehensive empirical and literature databases centering on WSHP issues. Two of the new initiatives are: Operation FitKids and Project FIT - a health enhancement and lifeskill development program for urban youth, and Hopi Nation - health promotion project for the Hopi Nation.

International Institute for Health Promotion - The International Institute for Health Promotion is being established in response to the increased interest throughout the world to optimize the state of Wellness of each person. The NCHF sees a critical need for an institute to lead, facilitate, and coordinate the efforts of the many health promotional professional world wide. The International Institute will serve as a global center for the development and advancement of health promotion policies, programs, services, and research. One of the key objectives is to develop a central repository for up-to-date global health promotion data.