As we navigate the fears and realities of diseases and the impact it has on our livelihood; the need to maintain health has never been more critical. We can debate various sorts of medical interventions to curb disease, but there has also been a simple preventative mechanism on our doorstep: exercise.
Non-communicable diseases have been gaining more spotlight attention recently. These are diseases that are generally chronic, but are not contagious. So they are carried by individuals and only those individuals experience the ever-increasing detriment of them. Non-communicable disease carriers are at a higher risk for mortality at the inception of new or unknown contagious diseases.
Non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension are large killers in South Africa. Combined with vulnerable populations such as the elderly and an ever increasing incident of depression; exercise has been proven to be a successful management and prevention tool.
The global initiative of Exercise is Medicine is spear headed by the American College of Sports Medicine. In South Africa, FitPro is the official accreditation provider.
The appeal worldwide is for professionals to upskill as members of the community are specifically requesting Exercise is Medicine practitioners. The appropriate prescription and implementation of exercise prevents the onset of non-communicable diseases as a result of the consequent lifestyle changes. With on-going exercise maintenance, signs and symptoms are well managed and the reliance on medicinal interventions decline.
For 2021, Exercise is Medicine is in top 10 Global Fitness Trends, echoing the importance of this initiative for Health Care and Fitness.
