More Activity, Less Risk: Tell Your MD How Much You Move

By Dennis Thompson, HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Jan. 3, 2025—It's not fun for people to admit to their doctor that they're couch potatoes.

However, a new study says that such a frank talk could help protect against chronic disease.

People with the highest levels of physical activity have a lower risk of 19 different chronic health problems, researchers reported recently in the journal Preventing Chronic Disease.

Researchers found that those who got at least 150 minutes a week of moderate to vigorous exercise were less likely to develop heart disease, cancer, lung problems, diabetes, and other debilitating ailments.

On the other hand, folks who got little to no exercise had more risk of chronic disease, results show.

Based on these findings, researchers recommend that doctors ask patients about their physical activity and provide encouragement to those who need to get more exercise.

"In our health care environment, there's no easy pathway for a doctor to be reimbursed for helping patients become more physically active"" senior researcher Lucas Carr, an associate professor of health and human physiology with the University of Iowa, said in a news release.

"And so, for these patients, many of whom report insufficient activity, we need options to easily connect them with supportive services like exercise prescriptions and/or community health specialists," Carr continued.

Researchers wrote in background notes that most U.S. hospitals and health systems do not ask patients about their physical activity.

For this study, researchers quizzed more than 7,000 patients at the University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center about how much exercise they regularly get, using a couple simple questions:

• "On average, how many days per week do you engage in moderate to vigorous exercise (like a brisk walk)."

• "On average, how many minutes do you engage in exercise at this level""

"This two-question survey typically takes fewer than 30 seconds for a patient to complete, so it does not interfere with their visit," Carr said. "But it can tell us a lot about that patient's overall condition.ll health." Carr explained that the study underscores the value of talking with patients about their exercise habits, even if it's only a brief chat.

"We believe this finding is a result of those patients who take the time to come in for annual wellness exams also are taking more time to engage in healthy behaviors, such as being physically active."

Further, Carr added that doctors are likely to be reimbursed for this conversation.

In a related study published last month in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health, Carr'steam found that insurers reimbursed healthcare providers nearly 95% of the time for exercise counseling.

"Our findings suggest the recommended physical activity billing codes are reimbursed at a high rate when providers submit them for reimbursement, which reinforces the idea to make physical activity surveys and counseling services available," Carr concluded.