As rates of cancer, diabetes and obesity continue to escalate, careers in fitness are on the rise, with hopes of getting America back into shape.

"I think with more awareness about health issues like heart disease and cancer, more people are seeing the benefit to being healthy through diet and exercise," says Brigitte Kinnaman, group fitness instructor at Fitness Plus in Cape Girardeau. "Diets and surgery are only quick fixes. The only thing that will help in the long run is keeping healthy."

Kinnaman works part-time at the fitness center, where she teaches Boot Camp, an intense, personalized workout class, as well as water aerobics and Reebok. She got her start in fitness as a career after becoming a Fitness Plus member. She enjoyed her group exercise classes so much that she decided to teach her own, soon earning certification to teach group exercise and water aerobics.

"It's fun. I like the challenge to make myself stronger and better, and encouraging others to do the same," says Kinnaman. The most challeging part of the job, she says, is making a workout to fit a wide variety of participants, young and old, from all fitness levels. "It's really hard to find a workout for everyone. I want it to be intense, but not too hard," she says.

She adds that more people are beginning to see the adverse effects of an unhealthy lifestyle and are looking to fitness as a solution. One of the most troubling issues she sees now is obesity in children. "If parents are active and involved, they'll set a good example for their kids. I think more adults are getting into a healthy lifestyle," she says. However, the most important thing overall is a personal commitment to fitness.

"It's an individual choice. People have to do it because they feel a need to for their own lives," says Kinnaman. She believes that as more people commit to healthy lifestyles, more people will see the change and realize they should be doing the same thing. "Participation is the only choice if you want to be healthy," she says.

At Cape Girardeau's HealthPoint Plaza, clinical integration coordinator Laura Morningstar is certified in athletic and personal training, as well as exercise science. She also teaches group classes and does physical therapy and rehab with patients battling diabetes, cancer and obesity. "I love it, I absolutely love it," she says. "I help change people's lives. People come in ready to make a change."

Like Kinnaman, Morningstar has seen a definite shift toward fitness as both a career and a lifestyle.

"Right now more people are seeing the value of their own health," she says, citing higher rates of diabetes, obesity, and heart attacks occurring as early as age 40. The media focus on health and fitness has also driven more people to care about fitness for themselves and their families. "I don't think this is one of those fields that will go away," says Morningstar. Though fitness may take a hit with the economy — money brought to the gym is discretionary income — she notes that the cost of a gym membership is priceless when compared to the cost of medications needed for health issues related to a sedentary lifestyle.

She says the most difficult part of a career in fitness is keeping people motivated and showing them the value of health and fitness. Because she believes so strongly in these things, it's hard to make others feel the same way she does about fitness. "They have to experience it for themselves. I can lead them and give them the tools and the information they need, but if they don't want to do the work, it's worthless," says Morningstar.

Southeast Missouri is also home to many smaller, local gyms - like The Training Edge in Cape Girardeau - that offer full-service facilities with top-notch fitness professionals on staff. Training Edge owner and personal trainer Scott Hubbard works closely with "special populations," such as people who have cancer, Krohn's disease, cerebral palsy and orthopedic problems. He also designs general fitness and weight loss programs for clients trying to get in shape.

"It's never the same thing two days in a row. There are always new challenges," says Hubbard, who has 17 years of personal training experience.