{"id":4030,"date":"2012-11-14T03:06:40","date_gmt":"2012-11-14T02:06:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stg-blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/?p=4030"},"modified":"2012-11-14T03:06:40","modified_gmt":"2012-11-14T02:06:40","slug":"exercise-medicine-inspiring-the-next-generation-an-interview-with-dr-mike-loosemore-part-1-of-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stg-blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/2012\/11\/14\/exercise-medicine-inspiring-the-next-generation-an-interview-with-dr-mike-loosemore-part-1-of-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Exercise Medicine: Inspiring the next generation, an interview with Dr. Mike Loosemore (Part 1 of 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Liam West (<\/strong>@Liam_West<\/strong><\/a>) & Dr. Mike Loosemore<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Undergraduate perspective on Sports & Exercise Medicine<\/span>\u00a0(<\/span><\/em>a BJSM blog series)<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The field of Sport & Exercise Medicine has two distinct areas. Namely, Exercise Medicine and Sports Medicine. To gain insights and get tips for students looking to follow in their footsteps, I\u00a0interviewed two influential figures pushing the boundaries of each field.<\/p>\n

The first of this two part interview series is with Dr. Mike Loosemore (ML) who is leading the “Exercise Is Medicine” initiative in the UK.<\/p>\n

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LW:<\/strong>\u00a0Hi Dr. Loosemore. Could you describe to the undergraduate readers what Exercise Medicine entails?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

ML:<\/strong> Exercise Medicine, or \u2018Exercise Is Medicine\u2019<\/a> as it\u2019s promoted by the American College of Sports Medicine<\/a> (ACSM), is the idea that exercise is important in preventing chronic non-communicable diseases (NCD) such as Type 2 diabetes mellitus, heart disease & cancer<\/a>. Exercise can also be prescribed as a treatment for a NCD allowing the patient to simultaneously reap the additional benefits of regular moderate activity such as reducing co-morbidities and improving the patient\u2019s sense of well being.<\/p>\n

LW: So essentially undergraduates can view exercise as a more powerful treatment than handing out a single pill in many circumstances?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

ML:<\/strong> Yes. Medical school essentially teaches students how to poison patients as that\u2019s what you do by giving small doses of drugs; although obviously if you give them too much of the drug you poison them properly! It\u2019s completely different with exercise. Using exercise we re-establish a natural process which allows the body to heal itself, returning it to the homeostatic state & often improving health considerable. Humans are exercising monkeys, we need to be active and if you don\u2019t exercise enough important functions of your body start to degenerate!<\/p>\n

LW: Powerful stuff! Would you be able to share with the readers some of the data surrounding exercise as a treatment for various NCDs?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

ML:<\/strong> Here are some basic facts and figures for the undergraduates from the ACSM website<\/a>. Regular physical activity reduces the;<\/p>\n