1. Help Your Patients be Active and Healthy

2. Health benefits of physical activity are beyond doubt  Promote health – weight control, joint flexibility, fall prevention, self-confidence, interpersonal relationship  Prevent disease – Osteoporosis, DM, heart attack, CA colon  Control disease – HT, anxiety, depression  Pain control - arthritis  Even patients know about them

3. But …  Local adults not exercising enough  2004 telephone survey – only 36% had moderate PA for > 10 minutes in the last week  Optimal health benefits attainable through 30 minutes of moderate PA a day for most days of the week

4. If promoting health is everyone’s business …  Government  Community  Individuals  Business sector  Health professionals

5. Health professionals have a special role  Readily accessible  In regular contact (4.2 times/person/yr)  Caring relationship  Trusted source of advice  Influenza vaccination  Smoking cessation

6. Effectiveness of doctors’ advice on PA  Overseas (US, UK, Australia) & local evidence  Doctors brief advice promotes short-term PA  For persons with or without disease  More among sedentary persons  Increased by – written advice, booklets, follow up sessions  Very low cardiovascular risk

7. Call for action  Acquire knowledge, attitude and skills  Gather & share experience  Set a precedent for the profession  Demonstrate effectiveness  Improve systems and joint-up efforts

8. Evaluation  Doctors complete a questionnaire (at baseline, 1 month, 6 months)  Patients fill in a log book & return a self- administered questionnaire  Regular communications during phase I  Cooperation of every participating doctor is highly appreciated