Health Professionals’ Perspectives on Regular Exercise and Physical Activity Promotion in Primary Care
Physical activity reduces the risk of many chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, depression and anxiety, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, musculoskeletal conditions, obesity and some cancers. General practitioners (GPs) encounter these conditions in daily practice especially in the districts where the specialist care is limited. Consistent with previous research, despite viewing physical activity as important, many health professionals expressed reluctance to promote physical activity via primary care. General practitioners play an important role in bringing about lifestyle change among their patients.
Regular physical activity can improve muscle strength and boost endurance. Exercise delivers oxygen and nutrients to tissues in the body and helps the cardiovascular system work more efficiently.The physiological response to exercise is dependent on the intensity, duration and frequency of the exercise as well as the environmental conditions. During physical exercise, requirements for oxygen and substrate in skeletal muscle are increased, as are the removal of metabolites and carbon dioxide. Chemical, mechanical and thermal stimuli affect alterations in metabolic, cardiovascular and ventilatory function in order to meet these increased demands.
The health benefits of regular exercise and physical activity are hard to ignore. Everyone benefits from exercise, regardless of age, sex or physical ability.
Biological effects of exercise
Brain: The increased blood flow also benefits the brain, allowing it to almost immediately function better. Additionally exercising regularly will promote the growth of new brain cells especially in hippocampus, these new brain cells help boost memory and learning. Many of these changes boost brain cell function and protect from diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s or even stroke, and ward off age-related decline. A number of neurotransmitters are also triggered, such as endorphins, serotonin, dopamine, glutamate, and GABA. Some of these are well-known for their role in mood control. Exercise, in fact, is one of the most effective prevention and treatment strategies for depression.
Heart: The heart rate increases with physical activity to supply more oxygenated blood to muscles and other organs. The fitter you are, the more efficiently your heart can do this, allowing you to work out longer and harder.
Lungs: During exercise, VO2max (Maximal oxygen consumption rate) is increasing. VO2max directly correlates to fitness capacity.
Joints and bones: As exercise can place as much as five or six times more than the body weight on them. Peak bone mass is achieved in adulthood and then begins a slow decline, but exercise can help to maintain healthy bone mass as you get older.
Muscles:Muscles use glucose and ATP for contraction and movement. To create more ATP, the body needs extra oxygen, so breathing increases and the heart starts pumping more blood to the muscles.
The developed and developing world is ageing, getting fatter, and becoming less physically active. As a result there is a pandemic of diseases associated with physiological ‘dysregulation,’ especially as it relates to cardiovascular and metabolic function. High levels of habitual physical activity and exercise are remarkably protective against these diseases.
The health benefits of regular exercise and physical activity are hard to ignore. Everyone benefits from exercise, regardless of age, sex or physical ability. Exercise and physical activity are a great way to feel better, boost one’s health and have fun. Aim for at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity exercise.
In our country, there are hidden cases of chronic illness like diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia and hypertension. The GPs are the first doctors to encounter such chronic diseases without diagnosing the original disease but presenting the complications. According to our cultural psychology, most of the patients especially older generation listen to their doctors with respect. This is a good chance to explain about the role of exercise to prevent complications of their chronic illness and how to engage regular exercise which is very cheap but effort is needed.
Large amounts of resources would be necessary to convince GPs to adopt a population approach to lifestyle advice. Measures to tackle the social and environmental determinants of health may be a more effective and efficient means of improving the nation’s health.
References
Gallé F., Di Onofrio V., Miele, A., Belfiore, P., Liguori, G. Effects of a community-based exercise and motivational intervention on physical fitness of subjects with type 2 diabetes.Eur.J. Public Health. 2018 Jul 23. [Epub ahead of print]
Thacker, J.S., Yeung, D., Chambers, P.J., Tupling, A.R., Staines, W.R., Mielke, J.G., Single session, high-intensity aerobic exercise fails to affect plasticity-related protein expression in the rat sensorimotor cortex. Behav Brain Res. 2018;18:30811-8.
Thike Aye Aye, University of Medicine 2
