BMJ 1994;309:872-873 (1 October)

Letters

Prescribing exercise in general practice Encourage active community life

EDITOR, - Steve Iliffe and colleagues advocate caution in prescribing exercise from primary care but argue that "exercise is good for us, especially as we get older."1 They cite the benefits of physical activity in a practice population, which include lower rates of cardiovascular disease, reduced depression and anxiety, and improved functional ability in elderly people as well as a lower risk of osteoporosis and fractured hips. Campbell et al evaluated a controlled trial of a community health promotion exercise programme that used a questionnaire and a motivated general practitioner and showed that general practitioners can influence exercise habits.2 Ten years later, with exercise promotion continuing in the general practice, the annual report of the director of public health showed a significant reduction in the all cause standardised mortality ratio in the campaign village compared with the control village.3

I agree that referral to leisure centres alone is not enough. . . . [Full text of this article]


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Relevant Article

Prescribing exercise in general practice
S Iliffe, S S Tai, M Gould, M Thorogood, and M Hillsdon
BMJ 1994 309: 494-495. [Extract] [Full Text]

This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Iliffe, S., Tai, S. S., Gould, M., Thorogood, M., Hilsdon, M. (1995). Prescribing exercise in general practice. BMJ 310: 194c-195 [Full text]  
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