What's the easiest way to get fit? The question most frequently asked of fitness professionals has a very easy answer: there is no easy way. Sorry. Quick fixes and extreme diets are temporary at best, and can be dangerous. Honest and consistent effort over time is the only way to get and stay fit. For those who enjoy their daily run or cycle class, this is easy, but they're not the ones asking the question, are they? So, how can everyone else turn fitness into a lifestyle?

The law should be used to help with the prevention of obesity by influencing healthier choices rather than regulating individual behaviour, according to Sydney University Professor Roger Magnusson.

Increasingly, Australian organisations are embracing broad-ranging programs to improve employee health and wellbeing. Fiona Marsden looks at how organisations are using health assessments to measure pre-and post-program outcomes.

For all the complications it brings to personal and community health, the cause of obesity is simple: People become overweight when the number of calories they consume exceeds the amount they burn each day. Many work environments contribute to this imbalance, writes Teresa Russell, but some organisations are tackling the problem head on.