Exercise and sport "vital" - experts
Friday July 6th, 2012
Lack of exercise should be treated as a "vital sign" by doctors alongside problems such as obesity and high blood pressure, an expert says today.
Exercise
is normally linked to healthy eating as crucial for a healthy lifestyle.
But, according to Professor Karim Khan, failure to exercise should be regarded more seriously - as on its own it can indicate somebody has a high risk of illness and death.
Writing in a special Olympic edition of The Lancet, Professor Khan and other experts says that participation in sport and exercise has "clear benefits" for physical and mental health.
Low fitness, on the other hand, should be ranked alongside obesity and high blood pressure.
This would lead to doctors and other health professionals making more effort to encourage patients to take up exercise, they say.
In the UK, different areas have tested exercise prescriptions and similar schemes - but they have never been adopted nationwide.
The experts say sport can also help trigger health awareness - especially when stars take part in educational programmes. They highlight initiatives by the international football authority FIFA.
Professor Khan, of the University of British Columbia, Canada, said: "Low fitness is a better predictor of mortality than obesity or hypertension, which are health risk factors afforded far greater emphasis than fitness by the media and most health professionals."
The researchers write: "The evidence for physical activity as a major public health preventative approach and a potent medical therapy has increased exponentially in the 64 years since London, UK, last hosted the Olympic Games.
"We believe that small changes at the community level and large, nationwide policies and initiatives are needed to improve health at a country level."
* Writing in the journal a UK expert talks of the challenges of providing medical support during the Paralympics.
Dr Nick Webborn, of Brighton University and the British Paralympic Association, says little is known about injuries that might be caused by prosthetic technologies.
He writes: "Provision of health care for Paralympic athletes is probably the most challenging and rewarding area of sports medicine.
"The complex mix of medical issues can be challenging for health-care providers and medical staff at the events, and the medical needs of the athlete group need to be understood and medical staff trained appropriately."
Tags: Fitness | Heart Health | North America | UK News
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