The American Council on Exercise (ACE) has secured ISO accreditation for its certification of fitness training programmes.

ISO – the International Organization for Standardization – is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies and is considered one of the the highest globally accepted benchmark of quality.

ACE has become an ISO/IEC 17024-certified body, which means that its four fitness education certifications – for personal trainer, group fitness instructor, health coach and medical exercise specialist - will now be accredited and recognised worldwide.

The accreditation means that exercise professionals who have completed ACE-certified training programmes can use their credentials when seeking employment anywhere in the world.

According to ACE, it is currently the only health and fitness-related non-profit organisation to hold the ISO/IEC 17024 accreditation.

Scott Goudeseune, ACE chief executive, said: "ACE receiving ISO accreditation is an important step in elevating the professional standards in the fitness industry.

"We can now offer international candidates the only ISO-accredited certifications in the world.”

Launched in 1985, ACE is based in San Francisco, US. There are currently around 90,000 ACE-certified health coaches and exercise professionals around the world.

To find out more about the ACE ISO Standard, click here.