Should we doctors treat inactivity?

Now, there's an idea!  

And here's the science.  A recent study published in The Lancet (http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(12)61031-9/fulltext) suggests that inactivity is as big a hazard to your health as smoking.  The authors estimate that 5 million deaths world-wide each year are caused by inactivity, the same number caused by smoking!

Imagine, 5 million people being active, feeling better and being alive longer!  Imagine that doctors actually treated inactivity by prescribing graded exercise training.  We have seen in other blogs benefits of physical activity from reduction in morbidity and mortality to specifically, reducing breast cancer incidence.  There is evidence that physical activity reduces the rates of:

• all-cause mortality
• breast cancer 
• colon cancer
• heart disease
• high blood pressure
• stroke
• metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes
• depression 
• falls

So, what about prescribing exercise?

That's the proposal of Dr. Michael Joyner in his commentary in The Journal of Physiology (http://jp.physoc.org/content/590/15/3413.full?sid=c90bb139-314f-4336-bb47-192fd51987ed).  He notes that the well-established morbidity and mortality of physical inactivity and lack of exercise, what he calls deconditioning, can be prevented.  He suggests that if we made deconditioning a diagnosis, we might all be more likely to take the prescription of EXERCISE!  Who doesn't at least consider diet, exercise, niacin or statin drug if she is told her cholesterol is high?   


Together we can prevent 75,000 breast cancer cases each year!


This content is general medical information and not personal medical advice.  You already know that I prescribe exercise, so if you know someone who needs the exercise prescription, have them call.