Iowa City, Iowa — Most Iowans know if you eat right and exercise, it’s good for your health, but researchers at the University of Iowa want to take that common knowledge to the next level.
Lucas Carr, a professor in the UI’s Department of Health and Human Physiology, says they’re studying the feasibility of testing all patients’ physical activity levels during every clinical care visit.
The UI study links regular physical activity to a significantly reduced risk of multiple chronic diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and diabetes.
He says one’s physical activity level should be gauged during visits to the doctor’s office like all other vital signs.
Most of us are used to being given a prescription as a remedy for whatever ails us, and Carr suggests if the patient isn’t being physically active, that they be written an “exercise prescription.”
Most of the country’s hospitals do not quiz patients about their physical activity, and Carr says no hospital system in the Midwest is doing so, either.
