Re. Andersen et al., ENCOURAGING PATIENTS TO BECOME MORE PHYSICALLY ACTIVE - THE PHYSICIANS ROLE, Annals of internal medicine, 127(5), 1997, pp. 395-400
A sedentary lifestyle is recognized as a risk factor for poor health.
Only 22% of adults in the United States are currently active enough to
derive health benefits from their activity. Inactive persons who impr
ove their physical fitness are less likely to die of all causes and of
cardiovascular disease than are those who remain sedentary. Many phys
icians do not feel adequately prepared to prescribe exercise to their
patients. An active lifestyle does not require patients to follow a fo
rmal, uninterrupted, vigorous exercise program. Recent recommendations
about physical activity have been simplified to encourage activity fo
r the promotion of health and the prevention of disease. Physicians ar
e advised to routinely counsel sedentary patients to accumulate 30 min
utes of moderate-intensity activity - equivalent to walking at 3 to 4
mph for most healthy adults - on most, preferably all, days of the wee
k. The most sedentary patients should be encouraged to simply begin do
ing something and to make gradual changes over time. With continued su
pport and encouragement from their physicians and families, these pers
ons may progress to higher levels of activity that will further reduce
their risk for disease.