Missed Opportunities, Inequalities and a Call to Action for Clinicians

Anne describes Movement for Movement as a community of practice: people who do, lead in less hierarchical ways and connect health care with sport, community groups and social prescribing. Tools such as the Global Observatory for Physical Activity country cards help start conversations about national activity levels. The missed opportunities are large. One in three doctors give no exercise advice, 80% of UK cancer survivors do not exercise, active bowel cancer patients have a 50 to 60% lower risk of recurrence, 56% of adults skip cardiac rehab, and inactive patients spend nearly 38% more days in hospital. Inequalities add to this: 81% of adolescents are insufficiently active, four in five disabled people are inactive though seven in ten want to do more, and the North of England is twice as inactive as the South. The This Girl Can campaign is given as a model for reaching vulnerable groups. The part closes on gaps in knowledge, with 80% of GPs unfamiliar with the activity guidelines and many physiotherapists unsure of them too.