EIM Sri Lanka - Aiding the NCD division of the Ministry of Health

In 2015, the Ministry of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine in Sri Lanka identified non-communicable diseases (NCDs) as the most pressing health concern in the country, releasing a National Multisectoral Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases 2016-2020, and tasking the national NCD unit to execute this plan. The goal of the NCD unit is to promote lifestyle change to people throughout Sri Lanka. Through this plan, the unit was specifically tasked to increase the capacity building of health workers by developing and conducting training programs related to NCDs.

Inactivity Linked to Severe COVID-19

Do you have the Physical Activity Vital Sign (PAVS) integrated into the electronic health record at your health system? A newly published study shows how valuable the PAVS can be (or Exercise Vital Sign – EVS) when it comes to identifying patient groups at risk for adverse health outcomes. This study of ~50,000 people with COVID-19 found that regular physical activity provided strong protection from hospitalization, intensive care unit admission, and death. Even inconsistent exercise lowered the odds for severe COVID-19 outcomes when compared to being completely sedentary.

The EASY Tool: PA Screening for Older Adults

Members of the EIM Older Adult Committee have developed an important screening tool to help older adults safely begin a regular program of physical activity. Both older adults and health care providers often have unfounded fears about the dangers of physical activity, when the best thing that older adults can do is become more active. The EASY online tool removes barriers to the initiation of physical activity, helps identify when older adults should seek medical guidance, choose activities, and learn safety tips.

Update on the EIM Global Health Network

Although the situation is different in every country, there is a glimmer of light regarding the COVID-19 pandemic with increased vaccine distribution on the way. At this pivotal moment, we want to take a moment to reflect upon the growth and development of the Exercise is Medicine® (EIM) Global Network and our emergence from the pandemic as strong as ever.

Pilates in the Clinical Space

With the rise of health consciousness and the emergence of global health initiatives such as Exercise is Medicine ®, there has been an increase in research conducted on how various types of exercise can provide physical and psychological benefits not only for health maintenance but also for those with injuries and non-communicable diseases. There have been several studies on the effects of Pilates on patients diagnosed with cancer, low back pain, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases suggesting an application within health care.

USPSTF Recommendation – A Game Changer for Lifestyle Counseling

In November 2020, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released an updated recommendation regarding behavioral counselling  to prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD) in adults. The recommendation states that healthcare providers should offer or refer individuals 18 years or older, with known CVD risk factors (e.g., hypertension or elevated blood pressure or dyslipidemia), to behavioral counseling interventions to promote a healthy diet and physical activity.

Enhance®Fitness Adapts to Keep Older Adults Moving during COVID

The average person in the US reaching the age of 65 years can expect to live another 20 years. For most older adults, good health supports continuing independence, security, and productivity. Unfortunately, millions struggle with health challenges like diabetes, arthritis, falls, mobility impairments and depression. The health of these older adults is of great concern during the coronavirus pandemic. They are at highest risk of nursing home placement, hospitalization, and death due to COVID-19 complications. Physical distancing and social isolation exacerbate many health conditions and only worsen an older person’s chances of recovery if infected by COVID-19. 

Physical Activity, COVID-19 and Older Adults

Before the onset of COVID-19 older adults were known to be more isolated than others. Now family and friends see older adults less often, especially when they reside in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, where infections rates and deaths have been high and visitors are restricted. Because older adults are at greater risk of developing serious COVID-19 complications, they may feel unsafe going outside, even for essential trips. This self-enforced social isolation sets the stage for increased risk of anxiety and depression. Fortunately, engaging in exercise decreases anxiety and depression risk and treats the symptoms of those diseases.

EIM Australia Launches Hospital Education Program

Educating future physicians on the importance of exercise for prevention and treatment of chronic disease is vital for the health and wellbeing of the Australian population. With this in mind, the Hospital Education presentations are designed to address gaps in undergraduate medical programs in Australia and increase the confidence of medical interns to counsel patients on physical activity and refer to appropriately trained exercise professionals.

UNC Aims to Develop Culture of Wellness on Campus Despite Pandemic

The EIM On Campus program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) was established in 2016 and recently was awarded “gold status” for its efforts by the American College of Sports Medicine. However, just as the UNC process was becoming streamlined, the COVID-19 pandemic reached the United States. These major changes prompted the UNC EIM-OC team to quickly adapt its model in order to remain an accessible and useful resource for the student body.

EIM Partner: Hancock Wellness Center

Hancock Wellness Center's Referral for Exercise program affords health care providers the ability to refer their patients to our fitness facilities. For just $60, their patients receive 60 days of supervised exercise programming to help manage their health and fitness level. Each enrollee receives a comprehensive health and fitness assessment, which serves as the base for their personalized exercise program and includes special considerations for their health needs and/or chronic conditions.

EIM Japan - Advocacy, Opportunity and Alignment

Japan, land of the rising sun, is globally recognized for many unique contributions to our global culture – sushi, kimonos, bowing and sumo wrestling to name a few. Another area in which Japan is becoming a global leader is through the work of the EIM Japan National Center. Formally established on July 5, 2018, EIM Japan is hosted by the Japanese Association of Exercise Therapy and Prevention (JAETP) under the leadership of National Center Director Dr. Yutaka Kimura and National Center Manager Professor Shinji Sato. A recent confluence of factors – advocacy, opportunity and alignment – have pushed the work of EIM Japan to the forefront of health and well-being at a national level.

Why Keep this COVID-19 Remedy a Secret?

First, the bad news. There is no vaccine or cure yet for the coronavirus COVID-19. The only approved drug has modest impacts. What would we give for a drug that would do the following?

Shifting Gears on Transportation in a Pandemic World

If a physician prescribes a course of treatment to reduce a patient’s anxiety, improve sleep or deal with a chronic medical condition, would you expect the patient to head to the pharmacy? What if that treatment instead had the patient lacing up their sneakers and airing up their bike tires? Active transportation, otherwise known as walking, biking, or other human-powered transportation, is a low cost, high impact prescription that health care providers can offer to improve their patients’ mental and physical health.

Being Active Now – A Different Spin

We live in a new world where restaurants and shops are opening up in a limited fashion. A trip to the grocery store means navigating the aisles past people who may or may not be wearing face coverings. Gyms are reopening but with various safety precautions including masks and social distancing. It is an altered universe. What have I learned about being active in the time of the coronavirus (COVID-19)? I have found that going outdoors for a walk or a bike ride is a lifesaver, both physically and mentally.

EIM Argentina: Setting up a National EIM Network

Life in the Post-COVID Era: One Physician's Perspective on How to Think Forward

Dr. Robert Zarr is a board-certified pediatrician at Unity Health Care, located in Washington, DC, where he has practiced for nearly 19 years. He is Founder of Exercise is Medicine partner, Park Rx America, a non-profit helping doctors connect patients to nature. Hear his perspective on how he believes we should learn from COVID-19.

A Clinician’s Thoughts about Self Care and Physical Activity during COVID

As health care providers during the COVID-19 crisis, we are faced with challenges on many levels. We are on the front lines of patient care, adapting with telemedicine and being told to stay home and away from others when not at work. This instruction alone could put a damper on our overall health — mental, emotional and physical well-being. The pandemic is uncharted territory for many, but unusual circumstances often inspire creativity.

COVID-19, Exercise, Children and their Developing Immune System

Due to substantial advances in exercise immunology over the past few decades, it is becoming evident that many of the health benefits of regular physical activity may be directly related to activation of the immune system. Studies show age-related changes in the immune system across the life span. In general, healthy children experience smaller overall perturbations to the immune system in response to an acute stress, such as a bout of exercise, and demonstrate a faster recovery from such perturbations compared with adults.

COVID-19, Ejercicio, Niños y su Sistema Inmunitario en Desarrollo

Debido a los fundamentales avances en la inmunología del ejercicio de las últimas décadas, se está haciendo evidente que muchos de los beneficios para la salud de la actividad física regular pueden estar directamente relacionados con la activación del sistema inmune. Los estudios muestran cambios en el sistema inmune relacionados con la edad a lo largo de la vida. En general, los niños sanos experimentan perturbaciones generales en el sistema inmunitario más pequeñas en respuesta a un estrés agudo, como por ejemplo, un ejercicio, y demuestran una recuperación más rápida de tales perturbaciones en comparación con los adultos.

A Call to Action: Physical Activity and COVID-19

The most important actions now are to reduce spread of the coronavirus through social distancing, frequent hand washing, avoiding touching the face. But, due to its multiple benefits, physical activity should not be an afterthought during this pandemic. Being active should be a key recommendation. People need to know about actions they can take themselves to help reduce the risk of severe infections and stressful reactions to the pandemic.

La actividad física puede ser útil en la pandemia de coronavirus

Las acciones más importantes ahora son reducir la propagación del coronavirus a través del distanciamiento social, lavarse las manos con frecuencia y evitar tocarse la cara. Pero, debido a sus múltiples beneficios, la actividad física no debería ser una ocurrencia tardía durante esta pandemia. Estar activo debería ser una recomendación clave. Las personas necesitan saber sobre las acciones que pueden tomar para ayudar a reducir el riesgo de infecciones graves y reacciones estresantes a la pandemia.

Opportunity for EIM Credentialed Pros & ACSM Certified Pros

The team at Exercise is Medicine® (EIM) would like to make you aware of an emerging opportunity for ACSM certified exercise professionals and those with the EIM credential. New federal guidelines provide an expanded opportunity for ACSM members and certified professionals to positively impact this public health crisis through the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP).

Identifying Key Physical Activity Categories & Topics to Include in Health Care Training

One key activity of Exercise is Medicine is providing physical activity training to health care providers and their teams, both as a part of their formative training and to licensed professionals. In 2018, a task force from the EIM Education Committee began examining how physical activity could best be integrated into health professional training programs. The core premise was that all health care providers should receive standardized training on a number of foundational physical activity topics.

Staying Active During COVID-19

The current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic presents some challenges to maintaining a physically active lifestyle. For all of us, young and old, regular physical activity remains an important strategy for staying healthy! Compared to being sedentary, moderate-intensity physical activity is associated with better immune function. Likewise, regular physical activity is associated with lower levels of anxiety and perceived stress

Physical Activity Assessment and Counseling in Pediatric Clinical Settings

Over the last decades overall youth physical activity levels have decreased. Coupled with rising rates of obesity, increases in the incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus, and declines in estimated life expectancy, the role of physical activity on child, and later adult health remains an important component of preventive care and disease treatment. Despite the importance of adequate physical activity on child health and development, clinicians are in many cases unfamiliar or unlikely to routinely implement activity-related care.

Meet the Speaker: Narlon C Boa Sorte Silva, BSc

Born and raised in Brazil, Narlon C Boa Sorte Silva attended the Universidade Nove de Julho in São Paulo, where he received his BSc in Physical Education and Exercise Science (2014). He was motivated to study exercise science because of his deep interest in fitness and health promotion—although he might say that it was also because of his love for playing, watching and breathing basketball. ACSM staff asked Narlon a series of questions to learn more about this year’s Annual Meeting, his research and what you can expect from his symposium.

Meet the Speaker: Lindsay Nagamatsu, Ph.D.

Focusing to identify strategies to improve functional independence and quality of life for the aging population, Lindsay researches the effects of exercise on cognitive function and brain health in older adults at–risk for cognitive decline. This May, Lindsay will share her passion of the role exercise plays in cognition and brain health in older adults at ACSM’s Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA. ACSM staff asked Lindsay a series of questions to learn more about this year's Annual Meeting, her research and what you can expect from her symposium.

EIM in Chile

Clínica MEDS, established in 1992, is the leading sports medicine center in Chile with nine clinics across the country. Their commitment to promote physical activity as an integral part of an individual’s health and well-being is demonstrated through their decision to host the EIM Chile National Center. This past year, seven Clínica MEDS sites took efforts a step further and displayed messaging promoting exercise as a medicine throughout their facilities.

EIM On Campus Profile: Baldwin Wallace University

The EIM-OC leadership team at Baldwin Wallace University hosted a campus-wide event throughout the month of October. The 30-Day Walking Challenge encouraged participants to walk at least one mile per day, summing up to more than a marathon over the course of the month. Collectively, the participants tracked 3760.29 miles, which is an average of 2.2 miles per person per day! The Provost of BW also declared October as Exercise is Medicine On Campus month.

Community Care Clinic of Rowan County

The Community Care Clinic of Rowan provides medical services at no cost to low income, uninsured adult residents in Rowan County, North Carolina. In an effort to better serve their patients, the Community Care Clinic of Rowan partnered with the Healthy Rowan Coalition in the spring of 2018. Through this partnership, Healthy Rowan worked with Community Care Clinic of Rowan to adopt parts of the EIM Solution. Clinic leadership and medical staff received training on assessing patient physical activity levels, providing physical activity counselling and connecting patients to free and/or low-cost physical activity resources such as parks and school tracks that Healthy Rowan had identified throughout the county.

EIM-OC Mascot Challenge Voting OPEN!

31 schools braved the fierce competition. Which is your favorite?

EIM On Campus Profile: Yale University

Exercise is Medicine On Campus (EIM-OC) at Yale University emerged in 2018 when a group of motivated medical students wanted to bring change onto their campus. With gaining excitement, the EIM-OC team paired up with Kevin Wang and Michael Flores of the Preventative Medicine Interest Group and Yale School of Medicine Wellness Committee to hold one major event this past May. The event, entitled 'Walk the Talk:

EIM On Campus Profile: Michigan State University

The Michigan State University Exercise is Medicine On Campus initiative is encouraging its students and community to experience all the wonderful physical activity opportunities that exist on campus and beyond. Most importantly, they highlight the message that the best exercise is the one you enjoy doing. Their ACTIVE Spartans Program matches students, faculty and staff with physical activity mentors (PAMs) through an exercise prescription referral system via Student Health and Wellness and also Employee Assistance Programs.

EIM Partner: Park Rx America

Exercise is Medicine is proud to announce it's new partnership with Park Rx America! Park Rx America is a non-profit organization whose mission is to educate health professionals about the benefits of prescribing nature and to provide an electronic platform through which registered health professionals can easily locate and prescribe visits to nearby nature-rich locations. They believe that adults and children will benefit both physically and mentally by being active in outdoor spaces. EIM and Park Rx share a mission to decrease the burden of chronic disease and increase health and happiness.

EIM Country Highlight: Integrating Physical Activity into Hong Kong Public Health Clinics

A little more than three years ago, Professor Stanley HUI, Director of the EIM Hong Kong (EIM-HK) National Center, approached the Hong Kong Jockey Club with the idea of integrating physical activity into the Hong Kong public health system and connecting patients to trained exercise professionals in community settings. After nearly two years of refining the details of the project, a five-year grant was awarded to the Chinese University of Hong Kong, on behalf of EIM Hong Kong, in late fall of 2018. The goal of the project is to adapt the EIM Solution to engage patients with hypertension and diabetes in community-based physical activity programs.

EIM Greenville Testimonial

Hear from those who have been through it. Lee Ann Ragsdale is a true testament to how exercise can change one's health, confidence and overall quality of life. EIM Greenville is a community fitness partner of EIM committed to guiding their patients towards a healthier life.

2019 European Initiative for Exercise is Medicine

It was felt that more should be done to address physical inactivity and to promote exercise in health care settings, taking the European perspective into account. The 8th annual meeting will be held in Amsterdam on September 20 and 21, 2019. Register today to learn more about Exercise is Medicine in Europe!

EIM On Campus Profile: Glendale Community College (AZ)

Glendale Community College (GCC) is a Silver level EIM On Campus whose mission is to enhance the wellness of their students and employees. GCC is committed to prioritizing activities, resources and education towards the importance of physical activity for one's health.

Augusta Health Fitness: Cancer Rx

Augusta Health wants to provide support to cancer survivors through all stages of their wellness journey. Offering the Cancer Rx program helps survivors to know that fitness is indeed medicine for them also.

EIM Malaysia: A Phoenix Rises from the Ashes

Malaysia established an EIM National Center in 2013, yet leadership changes in the host institution, the Malaysian Olympic Committee, led to the eventual dissolution just three years later. Thanks to several dedicated leaders, EIM Malaysia was brought back in 2018.

Become a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE)

A "Call to Action" For Exercise Physiologists

EIM Poland: A Success Story Born Out of Humble Origins

A few short years ago, Exercise is Medicine did not formally exist in Poland. Under the leadership of Anna Plucik-Mrovek and Malgorzata Perl, the initiative has blossomed into a highly successful program.

ACSM/EIM Partner's with American Association of Nurse Practitioners

Partnership Puts Exercise on Front Line of Patient Care

Compelling Study Shows High Levels of Fitness Equals Lowest All-Cause Mortality

A study published in JAMA Network Open found that those who were at the highest level of cardiorespiratory fitness had the lowest all-cause mortality rates. The study looked at more than

Translating Scientific Information into Ready-to-Use Recommendations

What does it really MEAN?

National Center Spotlight: EIM Canada

Exercise is Medicine (EIM) in Nova Scotia, a province in Eastern Canada was selected to present at the 2018 Annual Meeting of the Nova Scotia Health Authority as one of the 20 most innovative approaches to supporting healthy people, healthy communities for generations. Read more to see some of the key strategies undertaken by EIM Canada to gain this prestigious distinction.