Antronette Yancey, MD-Creator of Instant Recess™, Meb Keflezighi-American marathon champion, Robert Sallis, MD, FACSM-Chair of Exercise is Medicine™

This is my last post as president of the American College of Sports Medicine (Tom Best, M.D.,  Ph.D., takes office at the conclusion of our 57^th Annual Meeting, June 2-5 in Baltimore). One special satisfaction of this remarkable year has been the opportunity for the College to play a role in the development and launch of the National Physical Activity Plan.

ACSM has contributed in several ways, all in keeping with our mission. Many of our member/experts served on the working groups that identified strategies and tactics for each of the Plan's eight sectors. Robert Sallis, M.D., led the Health Care working group. What could be more appropriate for the chair of the Exercise is Medicine^TM initiative than helping all Americans enjoy optimum health by ensuring they have opportunities for physical activity?

As the Plan now moves into implementation, I urge all ACSM members to become involved. As experts in an array of disciplines from education and research to clinical medicine and health/fitness, ACSM members have the skills and connections to carry the Plan's strategies to policy makers and others who can make them a reality.

We each have a personal stake in bringing about the kinds of changes called for in the Plan. Our children need to be more active at school. Our neighborhoods need sidewalks and pocket parks. Our roads need bike lanes. Our employers need to encourage workplace wellness, and so on.

The National Physical Activity Plan, like ACSM, is comprehensive, diverse and rich with opportunities. Helping implement the Plan embodies our role of translating knowledge into practice. Nothing could be more appropriate—and nothing could have a more profound impact on so many individuals and communities.

What opportunities does your professional role offer to help implement the National Physical Activity Plan?

What can you do as a member of your community to help bring opportunities for appropriate physical activity to each of your fellow citizens?

This week, we highlight ways different American communities are bring us closer to meeting the National Physical Activity Plan’s goal that one day, all Americans will be physically active and they will live, work, and play in environments that facilitate regular physical activity. In the news:

America's 50 Largest Metro Areas Get Their Annual Physical (Fox News) For the third straight year, the Washington, D.C., metro area claimed the highest ranking in the American College of Sports Medicine's (ACSM) American Fitness Index(TM) (AFI). The AFI data report, "Health and Community Fitness Status of the 50 Largest Metropolitan Areas," evaluates the most populous city areas to determine the healthiest and fittest metro areas in the United States.

In Honor of Senior Health & Fitness Day, SCAN Health Plan Arizona Reaffirms Its Commitment to Healthy and Independent Aging (PR Newswire) The SCAN Connections Resource Center offers a variety of ongoing classes designed for seniors, including Chair Tai Chi, Laughter Yoga, Qigong, and Stretching for Strength and Balance. These courses are available to all seniors in the Phoenix area not just SCAN’s medicare advantage members.

ACT kids have a field day at Watson Pond (Taunton Gazette) Active Children Together (ACT) aims to enrich the lives of children with special needs by providing them the opportunity to participate in sports, an opportunity some of them may not have in other settings.

Does your community rank highly on the American Fitness Index? What are you doing to improve physical fitness among your community?

As Congress wrestles with complex, contentious issues of health care reform, I’d like to propose a step anyone can take to improve health and likely cut health care costs. This isn’t a legislative bombshell—I’ll leave that for the politicians. And it isn’t a new idea, though research keeps adding to the body of supporting evidence. Let me help you make the case for physical activity.

It’s not about exercising for weight loss, though most people know there’s a connection. Simply put, I’m advocating physical activity for health. Exercise repeatedly has been shown to help prevent chronic diseases such as diabetes, overweight and obesity, osteoporosis, coronary heart disease, hypertension, depression and anxiety, and even some forms of cancer. Surely, if there were a pill with all these benefits (along with some very pleasant side effects), everybody would ask to have it prescribed.

Truly, exercise IS medicine, and it’s readily available to everyone. Very little is required to get started: a pair of walking shoes, or maybe a jump-rope. Playing with your children is free of charge. (I highly recommend it, and I don’t even know your kids.) People of any physical condition can become more active and start feeling better. No prescription is needed, though more and more physicians are calling for specific doses of exercise for their patients.

On the job and active

Employers, squeezed ‘til it hurts by soaring costs, have found that it pays to encourage employees to be physically active. Published reports on workplace wellness programs show that cost savings for every dollar invested range from $2.90 (Prudential Insurance) to $5.96 (Bank of America). DuPont reported a 14-percent decline in absent days among blue-collar workers. Pacific Bell’s FitWorks program saved $2 million and $4.7 million in short-term disability costs in just one year.

Workplace wellness programs bring other benefits, too. Fit Swedish workers committed 27 percent fewer errors on tasks involving concentration and short-term memory, and a Canadian program found that 47 percent of employee wellness program participants felt more alert, had better rapport with co-workers, and generally enjoyed their work more.

Bottom line

Sure, it’s great to save those dollars—particularly nowadays—but the total benefits are incalculable. What price can you put on feeling better, living longer, or avoiding a debilitating illness? Think about ramping up your level of physical activity, and bring someone along with you. If you need help getting started, you’ll find plenty of resources on the Exercise is Medicine website.

It may take Congress a while yet to figure out health care reform. Meanwhile, I vote for healthy lifestyles as prevention. All in favor? Please share your organization’s perspectives on exercise as medicine.

What is your organization's perspective and involvement in the topic of exercise as prevention?