Episode 62: Exercise is NOT Medicine

The American College of Sports Medicine promotes that "Exercise is Medicine." The state of Oregon recently became the first state to amend its constitution to declare that health care is a fundamental right (Oregon Measure 111). In this episode, Dr. Armstrong and Corbin Bruton suggest that exercise is not medicine as medicine (that is our current health care system) favor the treatment on symptoms and seeks to cure disease, whereas exercise seeks to prevent disease and to improve the prognosis of disease. The hosts discuss how universal health should be the emphasis and that increasing exercise and and physical activity, as well educating the public on healthy life-choices must be the focus if universal health care is to be an attainable (and affordable) option. Over $117 billion are spent annually on health care costs associated with inactivity. Only 23.2% if adults over the age of 18 meet the Physical Activity Guidelines for both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activity. These numbers are worse for high school students. We need to make some major changes is how we do health care (i.e., health) if we are to see everyone have the opportunity to ...age well.

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