Nine out of ten of all primary care centers in Sweden prescribe physical activity

Swedish Research CouncilNov 30 2010

Prescribing physical activity for the purpose of preventing and treating various conditions can now become a reality for healthcare professionals all over the world.

Nine out of ten of all primary care centers in Sweden prescribe physical activity. The book Physical Activity in the Prevention and Treatment of Disease is often used as a handbook when prescribing physical activity. This is the first time such a comprehensive and scientifically based publication on physical activity is being published in English!

Written by 95 experts, the book summarizes the up-to-date scientific knowledge on how to prevent and treat various diseases and conditions on which physical activity has a documented effect. The first Swedish edition of the book came out in 2003 and a revised and expanded edition was published in 2008 and now this latest edition has been updated and translated to English. The book was prepared by the editorial board of Professional Associations for Physical Activity, a sub-section of the Swedish Society of Medicine, and it was produced in cooperation with Swedish National Institute of Public Health.

In Sweden, healthcare professionals have been prescribing physical activity for many years. Physical activity on prescription is used in all healthcare districts in Sweden. Interest is growing in other countries in working with the method. Physical activity in the Prevention and Treatment of Disease (FYSS in Swedish) is used as a handbook in over 50 percent of all prescriptions for physical activity. The book is also used in research and as a textbook in courses for doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and other healthcare workers.

Physical Activity in the Prevention and Treatment of Disease covers the following areas:

• General effects of physical activity
• Promoting physical activity
• Becoming physically active
• Motivational interviewing about physical activity
• Health aspects of strength training
• Infections and sports & Sports and sudden death
• Children and young people
• Pregnancy
• Menopause
• The elderly
• Effects of physical activity and direct recommendations of exercise activities for 33 different conditions including:
  • Asthma
  • Anxiety
  • Cancer
  • Coronary artery disease
  • Dementia
  • Depression
  • Diabetes - types 1 and 2
  • Metabolic syndrome
  • Obesity
  • Osteoporosis
  • Pain
  • Peripheral artery disease
  • Post-polio
  • Schizophrenia
  • Stroke and more.