The guiding principles of Exercise is Medicine™ are as follows:

• Exercise and physical activity are important to health and the prevention and treatment of many chronic diseases
• More should be done to address physical activity and exercise in healthcare settings

ACSM and AMA are making efforts to bring a greater focus on physical activity and exercise in healthcare settings

• The number of obese adults has doubled in just 20 years, with 67 percent of the adult population overweight or obese, according to recent figures from the Centers for Disease Control.

• Researchers studied obesity prevalence rates from 1990 to 2006 and concluded that 75 percent of the population will be overweight, and 41 percent will be obese, by the year 2015.

• Currently one-third of American children are overweight or obese—and because of it, for the first time perhaps ever, the current generation of children is expected to die younger than their parents.

• Obesity continues to climb among American adults. Nearly 60 million Americans are obese. More than 108 million adults are either obese or overweight. That means roughly 3 out of 5 Americans carry an unhealthy amount of excess weight.

• Experts say lack of physical activity contributes to some 300,000 deaths each year in the United States caused by heart disease, stroke, diabetes and other conditions.

• 16 percent of children and teens aged 6 to 19 were overweight in 1999-2002, triple the proportion in 1980. Fifteen-percent of children in the same age group are considered at-risk for overweight. The percentage of overweight African American, Hispanic, and Native American children is about 20%.

Contact us for more information or for a free "prescription pad" for your patients.

Click Here for the Exercise is Medicine Website.  Download a free toolkit to better address your patient's needs.