ABSTRACT
The prevention of a sedentary lifestyle is one of the goals of the helping professions. The importance of prevention is illustrated in the following scenario.
Imagine that you are out for a picnic on a pleasant spring day with a group of friends. You have just set out a checkered tablecloth with all manner of your favorite foods. You have situated yourself by the bank of a river, and as you are about to bite into a sandwich a cry is heard from the river. “Help, help!” the screamer yells. Putting down your sandwich, you tear off your shoes and clothes and dive in to rescue a drowning victim, apply artificial respiration, and prepare to return to your picnic. Suddenly two people call out “help, help!” You dive in again and pull them out one on each arm. But as you return there are three or four others calling for help. Again you return, but this time, tired and overwhelmed by several people at once, you let a few slip away. Again, now in larger numbers, people call for help, but you cannot handle very many. You are only one person and you don't even swim very well yourself. Your friends don't swim at all, but as they watch you one has a bright idea. “Why not go upstream and find out who is pushing these people in?” (Recounted by Rappaport, 1977, p. 632, origin unknown)
