Regular physical activity reduces risks of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and obesity. Stay active for a healthier life!

Physical inactivity is an important factor for various chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes and obesity. Despite the well-known health benefits of physical activity, many patients are not routinely screened for inactivity during doctor visits potentially missing opportunities for early intervention.
Screening patients for physical inactivity can play an essential role in improving health outcomes. One approach is using a tool like Exercise Vital Sign (EVS) which is a simple two-question survey designed to assess whether patients are engaging in the recommended levels of physical activity.

Those who undergo such screenings tend to show better overall health, with fewer risk factors for chronic diseases compared to those who aren’t screened.

Healthier Patients Screened for Inactivity

Interestingly the patients who were screened for physical inactivity were younger and healthier than unscreened patients. They had lower levels of common risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol. This is in contrast to previous claims that suggested screened patients may be older and have more health problems.

One possible reason for this difference is that patients attending annual wellness visits are more health-conscious and proactive about their well-being. This suggests that the patients may have been more motivated to maintain healthy habits sometimes referred to as the “worried well”.

Physical Activity Lowers Chronic Disease Risk

Physical active patients had significantly healthier cardiometabolic profiles including lower blood pressure, better glucose control and healthier body mass index (BMI). Active patients also had a lower risk of developing chronic diseases compared to those who were inactive or less active.

The above findings were consistent with previous studies, which have shown that regular physical activity helps reduce the risk of many serious health conditions. Active individuals are generally at a lower risk for heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and obesity all of which are linked to physical inactivity.

The Exercise is Medicine initiative encourages healthcare providers to treat physical inactivity and supports the idea that all patients should be screened for physical inactivity during every visit.

Expanding Inactivity Screenings Could Improve Health

Presently, physical inactivity screenings are often limited to specific visits or patient populations such as those attending annual wellness check-ups or specialty clinics which limits the potential for early interventions that could help prevent or manage chronic disease.

Expanding physical inactivity screening to include all patients can lead to better health outcomes. By identifying individuals who are not physically active, healthcare providers can recommend lifestyle changes or refer patients to personalized exercise programs.

Physical inactivity screening can be made a routine part of every visit to tackle the rising rates of chronic disease linked to inactivity. This simple initiative can help to identify health problems at an early stage and can reduce the burden of chronic diseases.

Reference:

1. Identifying Patients at Risk for Cardiometabolic and Chronic Diseases by Using the Exercise Vital Sign to Screen for Physical Inactivity – (https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2025/24_0149.htm)

Source-Medindia