BOSTON (AP) — When Dr. Michelle Johnson scribbles out
prescriptions, the next stop for many of her patients is the gym, not
the pharmacy.
Doctors treating chronic health problems increasingly are prescribing
exercise for their patients — and encouraging them to think of physical
activity as their new medication.
In
one such program run by a health center in Boston’s Roxbury
neighborhood, primary care physicians, internists and psychologists
prescribe access to a gym for $10 a month, including free child care,
classes and kids programs. Providing affordable gym access for patients
ensures compliance, said Gibbs Saunders of Healthworks Community
Fitness, a nonprofit gym in Dorchester that has partnered with several
health care providers to help low-income residents fill their exercise
prescriptions.
Life expectancy in Roxbury is 59 years — well below the national average of 78.8 years.
“Exercise is not a new medicine. It’s really an old medicine,” said
Johnson, who prescribes exercise to patients at the Roxbury-based health
center. “But you know, I think we’re now coming to the point of
understanding how important it is.”
Monisha Long, who is morbidly obese and suffers from hypertension,
got a doctor’s prescription for exercise and says she’s gotten visible
and dramatic results after more than two years of regular workouts.
“I lost well over 150 pounds, and I’ve been keeping it off for the
past couple of years,” she said after working out on an elliptical
machine at Healthworks.
And Long cites other, less-visible benefits.
“I’m more energized,” she said. “As far as my energy, I feel like I’m
stronger. I feel like I’m less tired. I feel like I can do almost
anything now.”
People who are physically active tend to live longer and are at lower
risk of heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes, depression and some
cancers, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease and Control and
Prevention. Yet fewer than one in four American adults exercises enough
to reap those benefits, the agency says.
Dr. Edward Phillips, a Boston physician, is so sold on exercise he
pedals on a stationary bike that’s integrated into his office desk.
Phillips said exercise is “like taking a little bit of Prozac — an
antidepressant — and a little bit of Ritalin, which is a stimulant.”
“Our bodies are meant to move,” he said. “Integrating movement into
our day allows the system to work optimally. Part of the system that
needs to work is our brain, and includes sleep, mood, cognition, ability
to concentrate.”
A prescription for exercise is a bargain, said Stephanie Dennis, who works out on a treadmill to stay fit.
“$10 a month is what? $2 a week, $2-$2.50 a week,”
she said. “A lot of people pay that every day for coffee. It’s not a big
sacrifice for something that you get big rewards from.” Seattle Times
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