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 nationwideeffort 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 thefocusis to urge doctors to write prescriptions for exercise for their patients. ACSM and Coca-Cola recently announced the availability of EIM’s Public Toolkit to help consumers stick with doctor’s orders for physical activity. The 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 worksif 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 Robert E. Sallis, M.D., 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 Exercise is Medicine’s Top 10 Reasonsto Fill YourPrescription for Exercise 1. Enhances mood 2. Improves mental sharpness 3. Can relieve stress and anxiety 4, Prevents certain types of cancer 5. Improvesthe quality of yourlife 6. Reduces risk of heart disease 7. Increases the goodcholesterol 8. Improvesthe quality of sleep 9. Can slow the aging process 10. Maintains healthy weight @ 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 min- utes 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. “Exercise is Medicine encourages consumers to speak with their physicians about an appropriate level of exercise to help achieve and maintain good health. A healthy lifestyle that includes a sensible, balanced diet combined with regular physical activity is an essential ‘prescription’ for balanced living that can includeall foods and beverages,” said Celeste Bottorff, Vice President, Living Well, Coca-Cola North America. “Exercise is Medicine is one of the many programs The Coca-Cola Company is proud to support. With ACSM, weare helping to raise the public’s awareness of the health benefits of exercise.” To learn more and to download the toolkit, visit www.exercise ismedicine.org.
