Michael O’Riordan
October 17, 2013

MILWAUKEE, WI — The American Heart Association (AHA), along with other professional organizations, is recommending that physicians regularly assess physical-activity levels in their patients[1].

Just like other major modifiable cardiovascular risk factors, such as diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol levels, obesity, and smoking status, physical activity “should be considered a vital health measure that is tracked regularly over time,” write Dr Scott Strath(University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee), the chair of the writing committee responsible for the new scientific statement, and colleagues.

To heartwire , Strath said the assessment of physical activity lags somewhat behind the measurement of traditional cardiovascular disease risk factors. “It’s largely to do with a lack of knowledge and understanding of how to effectively assess this behavior in different settings,” he said. “For a cholesterol screen, blood-pressure screen, glucose screen, it is very cut and dried on how to gather the information and how to interpret the information. This is not the case with physical activity.”

In the statement, published online October 14, 2013 in Circulation and slated for the November 12, 2013 issue, the writing committee puts it bluntly when it states that too many Americans are physically inactive or, at best, insufficiently active. The estimates vary, but one recent National Health Interview Survey suggested that just one in three Americans gets at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise five days per week. In another survey, this one from the 2003–2004 National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES) accelerometer-based assessment of physical activity, less than 5% of adults exercised more than 30 minutes per week at moderate intensity.

Full Story:  http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/812760