THE WELLNESS & FITNESS CENTER'S BLOG

Exercise is Medicine®

April 20, 2015, 11:51 pm - Categories: Education

A Global Health Initiative

Exercise is Medicine® (EIM) is a global health initiative managed by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) that is focused on encouraging primary care physicians and other health care providers to include physical activity when designing treatment plans for patients. EIM is committed to the belief that physical activity is integral in the prevention and treatments of diseases and should be regularly assessed and “treated” as part of all medical care.

A Prescription for Health: Combatting Non-Communicable Diseases with Physical Activity

Worldwide, it is estimated that physical inactivity causes:

• 6% of the global burden of disease from coronary heart disease;
• 7% of Type II Diabetes; and
• 10% of breast and colon cancer cases.

Inactivity also causes 9% of premature mortality, or more than 5.3 million of the 57 million deaths that occurred worldwide in 2008. On the other hand, regular physical activity:

• Reduces mortality and the risk of recurrent breast cancer by approximately 50
• Reduces the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease
• Lowers the risk of all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer-specific specific mortality in adults with higher levels of muscle strength
• Leads to higher academic performance in children and adults

Despite these health concerns of being physically inactive:

• More than half of U.S. adults (56%) do not meet the recommendations for sufficient physical activity set forth by the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans,
• U.S. adolescents and adults spend almost eight hours a day in sedentary behaviors, and
• As much as 36% of adults engaged in no leisure-time PA at all.

A Standard in the Clinical Setting

Prescribing physical activity (PA) in the right “dosage” is a highly effective prescription for the prevention, treatment and management of more than 40 of the most common chronic health conditions encountered in clinical practice. The goals of the EIM initiative are to encourage healthcare providers, regardless of their specialty, to take the EIM Pledge to assess and record PA as a vital sign during patient visits and to conclude each visit with an exercise “prescription” and/or referral to a certified health fitness professional or allied health professional for further counseling and support.

At all levels of healthcare, EIM can be integrated and implemented to achieve the ultimate goal of making PA promotion a standard in healthcare.

To learn more about exercise and your health, watch this brief video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjET7Lw5upM

Reference:
www.exerciseismedicine.org