“Do you even lift, Bro?”

By Ann Gates The recent viral videos and ‘outtakes’ of the responses to this pertinent (and yes, hilariously funny) rhetorical question got me thinking… what a great question to trend in the fight against the type 2 diabetes epidemic. Type 2 diabetes is largely preventable and treatable with the right medicines, a healthy, balanced diet and […]

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“Hey Doc, those exercises you suggested…….”

By Ann Gates (@exerciseworks)   Many diseases and long term health conditions respond clinically to exercise medicine. Just like medicines, such as statins, different exercises and physical activities have the ability to transform patient’s lives, control their symptoms and prevent and treat disease successfully. The evidence for the clinical practice of ‘exercise as a medicine’ […]

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“What exercise can I do Doc?”

By Ann Gates (@exerciseworks) Can health care consultations change to incorporate best practice ‘exercise medicine?’ In 2012, we sent out a ‘call to action’ to ALL health professionals about the pandemic of obesity and non communicable diseases (NCDs) which results in 36 million patients (worldwide) dying from preventable and treatable diseases. This call was enthusiastically […]

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Physical activity effectively promoted to Arabic speaking countries through translation and social media dissemination of viral video ‘23½ hours’

By Ann Gates (@exerciseworks), Dr Mike Evans (@docmikeevans) and Dr SalihAlAnsari (@SaudiHPC) The World Health Organisation describes physical activity promotion to mass populations as one of its top 5 ‘Best Buys’. We collaborated to develop an Arabic version of the viral social media success 23 ½ hours to promote the importance of regular exercise to […]

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Exercise as a medicine for both health professionals and patients!

By Ann Gates (@exerciseworks) This blog is an excerpt from: www.exercise-works.org blog on exercise as a medicine label Generic name: Regular, daily exercise   Uses: For the prevention and treatment of most non communicable diseases such as: heart disease, cancer, hypertension, stroke, obesity, diabetes, osteoporosis, mental health problems, parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, asthma, chronic obstructive airways disease, musculoskeletal […]

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Exercise for older adults: New UK guidelines!

By Ann Gates, @exerciseworks ‘Keeping Gran and Gramps fit and healthy’ should be part of the Olympic legacy in its truest sense and part of every nation’s health priorities. Regular exercise and increased aerobic fitness are associated with a decrease in all-cause mortality and morbidity. They are also proven to reduce disease and disability, and improve […]

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Overcoming barriers for health professionals to give more exercise advice and support to patients

By Ann Gates (@exerciseworks) It is unacceptable in 21st century medicine for 36 million people to die from preventable and treatable diseases! A recent BJSM paper reviewed the barriers to health professionals in giving exercise advice and support to patients within the context of a primary care consultation. This review identified three key barriers to successful brief […]

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A Call to Action to ALL health professionals: Giving exercise advice and support to EVERY patient: Part 2

By Ann Gates (@exerciseworks) Giving regular exercise advice and support as part of every health care consultation is fast becoming a critical health intervention in the prevention of the ‘tsunami’ of lifestyle diseases such as obesity, diabetes and related cancers. In May 2012 the U.S. Centre for Disease Control together with the Institute of Medicine […]

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Call to action for World Physical Activity Day 6th April 2012: Help patients get active!

Guest blog by Ann Gates (@exerciseworks)     Call to action for ALL heath professionals: Exercise direction to patients is emerging as an essential clinical skill in the prevention and treatment of both acute and chronic lifestyle diseases. Dr Bob Sallis MD has long advocated that regular exercise is a medical ‘vital sign’ in assessing […]

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