By: Joann Bally CSCS
Exercise is medicine. Didn’t I tell you so? This is the title of a new initiative from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), which is the largest sports medicine and exercise science organization in the world, and the American Medical Association. You know who the AMA is.
Regular exercise is important for achieving and maintaining good health. It is for everyone, at some level, not just the young, the buff, and the beautiful. And it should be part of life, not just something you rush to when you want to look good at a particular event or fit into last year’s bathing suit. Doctors know that physical activity is important for health, but they don’t always discuss it with patients, and when they do, they come up short on recommendations. Expect this to change. The ACSM-AMA initiative strives to make physical activity a “vital sign,” discussed at every regular patient visit. In addition, if you’re not already exercising, your doctor is being urged to “prescribe” physical activity. Now if he were to give you a pill that would prevent or treat chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and even some cancers, you would take that pill, wouldn’t you? Well, exercise can do all that. (You will look better too.) So when your doctor asks about your physical activity, it’s not because she thinks you look fat, but because she is participating in this initiative the goal of which is improving public health and lowering the cost of healthcare.
If you’re a fitness pro, don’t worry that the docs are moving in on your turf. You’re encouraged to be part of the whole thing, and to work with the medical profession and other health care providers. Of course, you will have to meet some standards yourself, not just be able to show off the size of your biceps or how high you can kick.
Find out more at the website www.exerciseismedicine.org. You will find specific reference materials for you if you are a physician, health and fitness professional, policy maker, member of the media, or part of the general public. Watch for more on this here, and hopefully, throughout the media and the medical and health and fitness professions.
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PHYSICIAN ATTITUDES TOWARD COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE
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