"Encouraging Exercise as a Prescription"

Remarks as prepared; not a transcript.

RADM Steven K. Galson, M.D., MPH
Acting Surgeon General
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Remarks at "Exercise Is Medicine" Luncheon

Monday, November 5, 2007


Washington DC

"Encouraging Exercise as a Prescription

Thank you, Bob, for that gracious introduction. (Bob Sallis, American College of Sports Medicine President).

(Others to recognize – Ronald Davis, President, American Medical Association; and Melissa Johnson, Executive Director, President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports)

I am truly pleased to be here today as you announce this exciting new initiative.

My boss, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt, extends his greetings and best wishes.

I want to take a moment to commend the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Medical Association for their leadership in promoting physical activity and healthy living.

Your message is one which the Office of the Surgeon General is pleased to embrace.

The message is one which needs to resonate widely; the practice of engaging in regular physical activity is one which must be adopted broadly – by individuals and families everywhere - if we, as a Nation, are to make truly sustained progress in health promotion.

The ACSM initiative being highlighted today is entirely consistent HHS' priority to prevent disease.

The prevention priority supports programs based on the best available evidence on how to prevent or limit the negative effects of chronic disease through promotion of a healthy diet, physical activity, and medical screenings.

Certainly, the message is timely.

Unfortunately, our society has become more and more inactive and is seeing a rise in obesity rates. And chronic diseases have become a quiet catastrophe.

Chronic diseases cause 7 out of 10 deaths every year – and the costs are staggering.

Perhaps worst of all, our children are growing up with unhealthy lifestyles, the consequences of which could be with them for the rest of their lives.

Obesity has become an epidemic.

Food is abundant, portion sizes have increased, as society has become increasingly sedentary.

Perhaps most disquieting are the trends among America's children.

During last 25 years, the proportion of overweight kids ages 6 through 11 more than doubled, while overweight in adolescents tripled.

Some 18 percent of all school age children are now overweight.

As a result, these young people face increased risk, as overweight increases risk for adult heart disease, diabetes, and other lifelong illnesses.

Physical activity rates among our youth are disturbing: just a quarter of high school students were moderately physically active for 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week—half the time needed for youth according to the federal Dietary Guidelines.

Much of the time, our kids are playing games inside with their thumbs rather than outside on the playing fields. Because the factors contributing to overweight and obesity are complex, reversing the epidemic will take concerted action by providers of care, fitness professionals, our public health colleagues, and indeed by all sectors of society.

That is why it is critical that your message - that "Exercise Is Medicine" – be understood and applied by young people in their daily lives.

That understanding is what underpins the President's HealthierUS -- the Administration's flagship health promotion enterprise.

The pillars established by HealthierUS include -

• Be physically active each day
• Eat a nutritious diet
• Get preventive screenings, and
• Make healthy choices:
  Such as
  • Refraining from tobacco use
  • Using alcohol moderately
  • And using seatbelts and bike helmets unfailingly

These 4 pillars guide obesity-related activities within HHS and the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, as well as other departments including Education, Agriculture, and Defense.

The pillars represent simple, yet profound ways to a "healthier you."

A "healthier you" also means a commitment to providing care in a culturally competent, health literate manner.

Health literacy - or its converse health illiteracy - can have a tremendous impact on our communities.

Health literacy is the ability of an individual to access, understand, and use health-related information and services to make appropriate health decisions.

More than 90 million people cannot adequately understand basic health information.

The Institute of Medicine's 2004 report, "Health Literacy: A Prescription to End Confusion," found that nearly half of all adults in this country have difficulty understanding and using health information.

The Report also found that there is a higher rate of hospitalization and use of emergency services among patients with limited health literacy.

Working within your communities, I urge you all to remember the importance of being able to translate complicated health information into easy-to-understand information - information that is communicated clearly, accurately, and effectively.

When we deliver the message of exercise as a prescription, we also have the responsibility to make sure that information is being heard... understood... embraced... and ultimately put into action.

I commend all of you for being part of the solution and encouraging exercise prescription as part of medical care and treatment for patients.

I have great confidence that the exercise message will help bring about a cultural shift.

Thank you for your continuing work, and for your commitment to improving the health of all Americans.

Thank you.

###

Last revised: December 30, 2008