Get your patients moving | |
Hot topics. Exercise. Manu V Chakravarthy, Frank W Booth. Philadelphia: Hanley and Belfus, 2003 (x + 326 pp). ISBN 1 56053 568 7. |
Tobacco smoking is still
the leading preventable health risk in Australia, but the risk associated with a sedentary lifestyle is similar to that of smoking. For those Australians who do not smoke, physical inactivity is now by far the greatest health risk.
Hot Topics. Exercise defines the key role that a sedentary lifestyle plays in the development of many common chronic health disorders and provides practical solutions to reversing this major trend in contemporary public health. The authors are two Americans whose professional lives are dedicated to increasing our understanding of the role of exercise in preserving human health. Chakravarthy is a physician and Booth a well-known clinical exercise scientist. The book provides a comprehensive account of the epidemiology, the biological mechanisms and the all-important randomised controlled trials that show that regular physical activity can prevent or delay the onset of chronic health disorders. In addition, the authors review the clinical evidence that exercise can reduce morbidity and enhance the quality of life of patients with a variety of chronic diseases. Through these various lines of evidence they establish clearly the health risk associated with a sedentary lifestyle. However, their purpose is not simply to extol the benefits of exercise. About one third of the book is devoted to sensible, practical exercise prescription and strategies to assist practitioners in guiding their clients and patients to more active lifestyles. Although medical practitioners may not be able to administer some of the types of exercise described, the section is important because it informs them about what is required and the advice they can expect their patients to receive from exercise specialists. The text is dense with information, but enjoyable to read and generously supported by tables, clear diagrams and flow charts. If we all act on the compelling arguments advanced in Hot Topics. Exercise we could reduce the health burden of sedentariness as we have reduced smoking-related diseases. The book will do much to encourage a vanguard. John R Brotherhood
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