Innovations - IHRSA

“Clubs, themselves, first have to be aware
that exercise has a tremendous effect on
the brain.”
CBI: Earlier, you spoke about the
impact of exercise on cognition
as one ages. What, specifically,
are the mental benefits of exercise
for individuals over 50?
JR: If someone has been inactive up
to the age of 50, but gets involved in a
moderately intense exercise program,
studies show that they’ll push back
cognitive decline by 10 to 15 years.
Other research suggests that you can
cut the risk of Alzheimer’s disease
by up to 50%. Women, by the way,
derive more benefits of this sort from
exercise than do men, especially
after menopause.
CBI: Do you think that most
physicians truly understand and
appreciate how exercise affects
health, lifestyle, and, in particular,
the brain?
JR: No, I don’t think they understand
it all, quite yet. They need to be better
educated about these issues. Now,
medical students are demanding
more information about nutrition,
and I think that exercise is beginning
to get some play. I spoke about
exercise and Parkinson’s disease,
and brain health, in general, at
Stanford University this summer.
In November, here at Harvard, we
| CBI Interview |
had a three-day conference called
Active Doctors, Active Patients,
designed to encourage doctors to
prescribe exercise to their patients.
It was sponsored by the new Institute
for Lifestyle Medicine at Harvard.
The interest is building, but slowly.
CBI: Do you think physicians
should be “prescribing” exercise
to their patients?
JR: Yes, prescribing exercise is key
to changing the healthcare tide. I also
think many family practice physicians
should have a “fitness nurse,” whose
job would not only be to prescribe
exercise, but, in addition, to check
data from a pedometer, heart-rate
monitor, or body-composition scale
on a regular basis. The benefits would
be enormous! —|
– Patricia Amend, Pamend@aol.com
www.ihrsa.org | APrIL 2010 | Club Business International 27