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Physical activity interventions in clinical settings

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Abstract

Because of salutary health benefits, national recommendations call for all Americans to accumulate 30 minutes of moderate physical activity (PA) on 5 or more days of the week. However most fail to achieve this minimal level and report that their physician has not counseled them to increase their PA. Because 83% of Americans see a physician each year, the potential impact of clinical interventions is large, even if only a small proportion of patients increase their PA. Yet barriers to PA counseling and gaps in the evidence based on PA interventions in clinical care persist. This paper reviews recent evidence regarding clinical interventions for PA and several new validated tools for assessing PA in clinical settings that were published since 2005 and discusses clinical and research implications.

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Correspondence to Rebecca A. Meriwether MD, MPH.

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Meriwether, R.A., Wilcox, S. & Parra-Medina, D. Physical activity interventions in clinical settings. Curr Cardio Risk Rep 1, 237–246 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12170-007-0038-0

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