Prescription For Health: A Dose Of Exercise
(NAPS) — Here's a statistic that might get you off the couch. Forty percent of U.S. adults — 82.5 million people — are physically inactive.
That's why a nationwide effort is underway to get Americans moving. Launched by the American College of Sports Medicine in partnership with The Coca-Cola Company, the program is called Exercise is Medicine (EIM) and the focus is to urge doctors to write prescriptions for exercise for their patients.
The exercise toolkit includes step-by-step instructions for consumers to work with a doctor to determine the right dose of exercise.
The kit guides patients on how to ask their doctor to review their physical activity program during every visit. It also includes national guidelines for physical activity, tips on starting an exercise plan and a self-assessment test to develop a customized physical activity plan.
"Powerful medicine only works if it is taken as prescribed, and since the advent of Exercise is Medicine we have reached out to thousands of physicians with this message. Now, our goal is to make sure patients have the tools they need to successfully fill their prescriptions for exercise," said Dr. Robert E. Sallis, immediate past president of the American College of Sports Medicine and chair of Exercise is Medicine. "The key to a healthy weight is simple arithmetic — calories in cannot exceed calories out. Physical activity helps boost the 'calories out' side of the equation."
When the campaign first launched in November 2007, it called upon physicians to assess and review physical activity levels at each checkup, the same way other vital signs like blood pressure and cholesterol are recorded. EIM urged physicians to advise able patients to participate in 150 minutes of moderate physical activity a week, which can easily be achieved in 30 minutes of activity and 10 minutes of stretching five times a week.
To learn more and to download the toolkit, visit www.exerciseismedicine.org.
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