The Exercise is Medicine initiative highlights your level of physical activity as a vital sign | CNN

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Has your doctor asked you about your level of physical activity? If so, you can thank Exercise is Medicine, a global health initiative run by the American College of Sports Medicine.

Created in 2007, the initiative encourages healthcare professionals to assess patients’ physical activity during visits, as well as include regular exercise in the design of care plans. The amount and types of exercise recommended by medical professionals should be based on each person’s current health and abilities.

The philosophy of the initiative is simple: physical activity promotes optimal health. Regular movement also helps prevent and even treat various medical conditions. According to a 2020 article in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, overwhelming evidence links physical inactivity to poor health and high health care costs. The study concluded that health care and fitness programs should be merged.

In addition, people who were moderately to vigorously active for at least 150 minutes per week had almost half the health care utilization compared to those who were sedentary, according to a study conducted by Intermountain Health System in Salt Lake City that was introduced. at the 2019 American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting and accepted for publication.

The study also found that active people had half the total health care costs compared to sedentary people, defined as those who engaged in one minute per week of moderate to vigorous activity, Dr Elizabeth said Joy, medical director of the health technology company. Lore Health and Chair of the EIM Governing Board.

Unfortunately, while EIM has expanded and achieved many successes, only 22.9% of adult women and 17.8% of adult men were advised by health professionals to increase their levels of ‘physical activity, according to the 2022 US National Health Interview Survey, Joy noted.

With the average primary care visit lasting less than 20 minutes and with health care providers needing to cover so many problems, it’s no wonder so few address physical activity, Joy said.

It takes very little time to write a prescription, Joy said. It takes much longer to do evidence-based advice on behavior change.

Despite EIM’s lack of progress in the medical office, it has created numerous programs, initiatives, and exercise prescriptions to help outsiders.

EIM now includes Exercise is Medicine on Campus, for example, a program that helps colleges and universities promote and assess physical activity among students, faculty and staff. To date, more than 200 US schools and more than two dozen international educational institutions participate.

The EIM-OC program at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Mich., has achieved gold status, said Amy Campbell, associate director of recreation and wellness, which means the university evaluates and promotes physical activity routinely on campus. The college offers benefits such as free personal training through its exercise science majors, plus a wealth of group fitness classes and wellness coaching.

While some of those offerings were in place before GVSU signed on with EIM-OC, Campbell said the university is working more collaboratively to emphasize the importance of physical activity.

The CARE team (which connects struggling students with support services) now always asks students: What do you do outside of class? Do you stay physically active? What are your favorite activities? Campbell said. If they see an opportunity to work with our department, they will get in touch. For example, if someone can’t afford to participate in an intramural program, make sure they have access to it.

There is also Moving Through Cancer, the first disease-specific initiative within EIM. The initiative helps with exercise and rehabilitation programs for people living with cancer and beyond. Most people who are physically active during cancer treatment have less severe side effects, feel better more quickly after treatment and, in some cases, have a lower risk of the cancer returning, research has shown.

EIM also created the Rx for Health series, which offers exercise prescriptions for people with a wide variety of common chronic conditions, including Alzheimer’s, depression and anxiety, osteoarthritis, and heart failure.

If you’ve had a heart attack, you’re at a much higher risk of another if you spend most of your time on the couch instead of going for walks, Joy said. The couch is more dangerous than walking shoes.

While the EIM will continue to educate health care providers and students in the health fields about the importance of assessing patients’ activity levels and creating physical activity prescriptions, it is also looking into other options.

People don’t respond well to being told to do something, Joy said. Rather, people are more likely to engage in and sustain healthy behavior changes when they are made in their community. If someone’s family, neighborhood, faith-based community, or even work environment supports regular physical activity, they are likely to be more active.

Absolutely, said Gerren Liles, certified personal trainer and owner of Gerren Liles Vision Fitness in New York. Several companies in New York City have brought in Liles to teach fitness classes to their employees, and she has seen the benefits.

It’s always good to bring people together to exercise, she said. This can inspire people to take charge of their fitness. It would be great if businesses invested in fitness, if schools created programs and events for students and even parents, and if the media and movies were promoting physical activity.

Healthy behaviors are contagious, Joy said. We also have some personal responsibility when it comes to physical activity to really think about how we influence the people around us.

So the next time you go for a walk, Joy said, invite a friend or neighbor.

Melanie Radzicki McManus is a freelance writer specializing in hiking, travel and fitness.