Physical inactivity is a major public health problem of the 21st century. The
spiraling cost of a sedentary lifestyle on morbidity and mortality isn’t just dramatic, it
is devastating, with an estimated 250,000 premature deaths annually in the U.S. These
deaths are directly a function of physical inactivity, which constitutes the 4th leading
cause of death globally (with about 3.3. million attributable deaths per year). Exercise
medicine serves as a resource for physicians and other healthcare professionals, while
providing the unique opportunity for Board Certified Exercise Physiologists to further
establish themselves as advocates of the benefits of exercise medicine, physiological
assessments, and the exercise prescription. This chapter makes the connection between
the benefit of regular exercise on both the primary and secondary prevention of
coronary heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, low back pain, hypertension, breast
and colon cancer, depression, dementia, and osteoporosis. Without a doubt, exercise is
medicine that should be prescribed by Board Certified Exercise Physiologists.
Keywords: Exercise medicine, Exercise physiologists, Healthcare professionals,
Lifestyle diseases, Oxygen consumption, Physical inactivity, Regular exercise.
