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Faculty of Health Sciences & Medicine
Latest News
Exercise - The New Medicine?
22 April 2008
A long-term Bond research project on the prescription of exercise is only in its early stages but is already having a positive impact on the community.
Exercise Science Professor Greg Gass with his colleague Dr Clare Minahan are managing a three-year research project into the exercise dose-response relationships for women aged 65 to 74 years.
The project is funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council, which continues to make a significant financial investment into exercise as a therapeutic intervention.
Prof Gass said the idea of the project is essentially to see exercise as medicine, a concept that recently came from a joint position statement by The American Medical Association and the American College of Sports Medicine.
In November 2007, the American College of Sports Medicine facilitated the launch of a landmark program: Exercise is Medicine™.
The program is designed to encourage America’s patients to incorporate physical activity and exercise into their daily routine, specifically calling on doctors to prescribe exercise to their patients.
“In Australia, general medical practitioners are increasingly recognising the importance of regular exercise to their patient’s health and want to prescribe exercise before a selected pharmaceutical intervention,” he said.
“If we can ascertain how often, for how long, how frequently and how intense the exercise should be for each patient, then we can maximise the health outcomes, particularly for our ageing population.”
Prof Gass said there are two experiments underway, with 120 women involved in each. The women are exercising on treadmills in the Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine building at Bond University on a set number of days each week for an allocated time.
“A number of the women involved are caring for incapacitated partners so they’re finding the exercise really enjoyable because it gives them a break and they’re getting social with the other women,” he said.
One such participant is 70 year-old Colleen Saunders from Varsity Lakes, who is into the fifth week of the program. Colleen cares for her 75 year-old husband and until now, had not found the time to exercise.
“I’m feeling different already,” she said. “Usually I would have a sleep in the afternoon but I have more energy and I’m getting out in the garden.”
“I’m on the treadmill four days a week and doing 36 minutes of prescribed exercise including a warm up and warm down each visit. The other women are all so nice, and it’s been great fun.
“My husband says I have a better disposition!”
Prof Gass said the results of the project will be distributed to GPs. “It’s a significant public health initiative that is going to produce new knowledge,” he stated.