THURSDAY, Feb. 9 (HealthDay News) — The number of American
adults who received advice from their doctor to engage in regular exercise
has increased steadily over the past decade, according to new research
from U.S. health officials.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers noted
that this trend could help more Americans lower their risk for chronic
illnesses, reduce their dependence on medication and improve their quality
of life.
The investigators used data from the U.S. National Health Interview
Surveys from 2000, 2005 and 2010 to examine whether or not physicians make
a point to recommend regular physical activity to their patients.
The research revealed that between 2000 and 2010, the percentage of
adults advised to get regular exercise jumped from 22 percent to 32
percent — a 10 percent increase.
Among those told most often to engage in some sort of physical activity
were obese patients. Exercise was also increasingly recommended to
patients with high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer and diabetes.
Also, data from each of the three survey time points indicated that
female patients were more likely to have been urged to exercise than male
patients.
By 2010, nearly one-third of adults who had seen a doctor in the past
12 months had been advised to begin or continue an exercise regimen,
according to information in a CDC news release.
In addition, the researchers found, the percentage of adults aged 85
and older who were told to exercise nearly doubled from 15.3 percent to
28.9 percent over the course of 10 years.
Although more people of all races and ethnicities were advised to get
physically active, the study revealed that Hispanic adults had the largest
percentage point increase over the decade.
Despite the rising trend, the prevalence of exercise advice remains
well below 50 percent of U.S. adults and varies significantly among
different groups of people, the authors cautioned.
“Physicians and other health professionals can be influential sources
of health information, and exercise counseling by primary care physicians
has been shown to increase patients’ participation in physical activity,”
according to CDC researcher Patricia Barnes, of the National Center for
Health Statistics (NCHS), and her colleague Charlotte Schoenborn. Their
findings are published in the February issue of the CDC’s NCHS Data
Brief.
More information
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has more about physical
activity guidelines for Americans.
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