TY - JOUR T1 - Is general practice engaged with physical activity promotion? JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 484 LP - 485 DO - 10.3399/bjgp15X686677 VL - 65 IS - 638 AU - Bryn Savill AU - Andrew Murray AU - Richard Weiler Y1 - 2015/09/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/65/638/484.abstract N2 - The many positive benefits of regular physical activity (PA) and resultant increased cardiorespiratory fitness on improved health are widely acknowledged.1 GPs are in a unique position to engage the public in PA given their access across local communities, particularly less healthy populations, older people, and those with lower socioeconomic status, and they provide a trusted source of advice. Currently there is a lack of engagement from primary care physicians in following PA promotion clinical guidelines, with barriers against best clinical practice including a lack of time, education and resources. Comprehensive, multisectoral strategies are needed to reverse the physical inactivity pandemic. Engaging GPs in PA promotion alone will not reverse current trends. Other approaches that are needed to increase PA levels include: school-based methods that incorporate physical literacy, improved urban design planning, and active transport policies, to name a few.2The physical inactivity pandemicGiven the current burden of chronic non-communicable diseases in the UK, a greater emphasis needs to be placed on chronic disease prevention and treatment through regular PA. Improving patient PA levels could save approximately 5.3 million lives worldwide,3 and over £8 billion4 for the UK economy each year. The World Health Organization (WHO) cite physical inactivity as the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality causing an estimated 6% of deaths globally. UK levels of physical inactivity are among the highest worldwide. When asked, only about one-third of UK adults reported meeting the Chief Medical Officer’s (CMO’s) PA guidelines to confer even basic health benefits.1 Alarmingly, when a subsample of these adults had their PA levels objectively measured with an accelerometer only 5% met the CMO’s PA guidelines.5Structural incorporation of physical activity promotion in primary care‘Investments that work for physical activity’, supported by the WHO and numerous global experts, and organisations, concludes that integrating PA promotion into primary healthcare systems is one … ER -