Bridging the Gap Between Exercise and Healthcare

WSYD Moving Chair Michael Wilkins joined the AusActive Summit in Federal Parliament on August 15 with more than 100 delegates from across the country.

It was a day of stark statistics, great presentations and political insight.   

• Three in five Australians live with chronic disease. These conditions cost almost $98 billion each year.

• Exercise can play an important role in preventing and managing chronic disease.

• Regular exercise can reduce the risk of several health conditions. It can also support healthy body weight, muscle strength and mental health.

AUSactive launched a proposed model of care. The model aims to connect eligible patients with structured exercise programs through the health system - getting a referral from your GPP for example to an allied health program like yoga, gym programs or programs for the ageing.

There was also interesting data about weight loss drugs which are becoming so popular. While they do work, muscle loss as a percentage of weight loss using the drugs is 45%, compared to 22% just losing weight through diet and exercise. This is particularly relevant for ageing as loss of strength equals an increase in falls. 

Best takeout from the day - our health system is geared to treatment, not prevention.
At WSYD Moving we know that's true!