Prescribing exercise outdoors could reduce obesity, say councils
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Doctors prescribing exercise outdoors to patients would get more people doing physical activity and help reduce obesity, say councils.
The Local Government Association, which represents more than 370 councils, is calling for a similar model to the ‘green prescription’ in New Zealand that gets people outdoors, to be introduced in England and Wales.
In New Zealand, where the scheme has been running since 1998, eight out of every ten GPs have issued green prescriptions to patients. These are forwarded to a patient support person who encourages the patient to be more active through phone calls, face-to-face meetings or a support group. Progress is reported back to the GP.
A recent survey of patients given green prescriptions in the country found 72 per cent noticed positive changes to their health, 67 per cent improved their diet and more than half (51 per cent) felt stronger and fitter.
Rather than just issuing prescriptions for medicines, the LGA says that if GPs in England and Wales ...
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