Making exercise a prescription for diabetes (Canada)

Most Canadians would agree that physical activity and exercise plays an important role in preventing or managing the devastating effects of chronic diseases, including diabetes. But what we say and what we do can be very different. In fact, the majority of Canadians do not meet the physical activity guideline recommendations established by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology and the Canadian Diabetes Association. A unique team of health care and exercise professionals representing medicine, physiotherapy, dietetics, kinesiology, and psychology, comprising the Exercise is Medicine® Canada National Task Force, is aiming to change this reality by bringing physical activity and exercise into mainstream patient care. Dr. Jan Hux, Chief Scientific Advisor for the Canadian Diabetes Association, says the Canadian Diabetes Association's 2013 Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Diabetes in Canada (Guidelines) recommends all individuals with diabetes participate in at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity aerobic exercise each week, and encourages resistance training three times a week. "Providing diabetes care providers with practical and effective strategies for incorporating physical activity into a management plan is extremely valuable for people living with diabetes," she says