How to facilitate the prescription of daily physical activity by doctors? This is the goal of a recent country led by the High Authority for Health (HAS). The institution recalls that the adoption of the law of March 2, 2022 notably opened up the prescription of adapted physical activity (APA) to all doctors. As a result, the HAS wanted to publish a new consultation guide and new sheets by pathologies to encourage the prescription of physical activity. These documents aim to better support doctors in their knowledge of physical activity for an appropriate, effective and secure prescription. They also allow the people directly concerned to know the possibilities and to understand the interest of this type of activity according to their illness or state of health. This medical prescription for physical activity concerns people with a chronic illness or presenting risk factors as well as people with a loss of autonomy. “The benefits of physical activity on health are now widely known and validated, including for people living with a chronic disease”, also recalled Pre Dominique Le Guludec, president of the College of the High Authority for Health. . And to explain: “Contraindications are rare and most often temporary. At the heart of prevention and in the context of a relationship of trust with his patient, the doctor can, in the context of a consultation, explain, motivate, and prescribe a daily physical activity, a leisure sports activity, or an adapted physical activity (APA) which will then be provided by a qualified professional speaker within a personalized, structured and monitored health course”. The consultation and prescription guide for physical activity (PA) for health purposes in adults published by the HAS falls within this context. It has been supplemented with new sheets to help prescribe PA by pathologies. Why practice physical activity? “Major determinant of the state of health, physical condition and maintenance of autonomy, physical activity intervenes in the prevention of many chronic diseases and is also a non-drug therapy in its own right”, emphasizes the HAS. Throughout life, sustained physical activity is beneficial for: reducing the incidence and mortality of cardiovascular pathologies; reduce the incidence of cancer of the breast, colon, endometrium (the mucous membrane that lines the inside of the uterus), bladder and kidney; improve cognitive functions, sleep quality of life, but also reduce the risk of depression, excessive weight gain, gestational diabetes, falls in the elderly; in sick people, the benefits are also numerous: reduction of the risk of mortality (breast cancer, colorectal, prostate, type 2 diabetes), reduction of pain. The HAS explains that “at every stage of life, even when you have a chronic condition, physical activity is a health asset. In this specific case, it takes the form of adapted physical activity. Individualized, this practice takes into account the physiological and psychological state of the patient at the moment T which is followed and accompanied by a specifically trained professional. This practice must be regular and continued throughout life to be effective. A level of physical activity corresponding to an energy expenditure of 1,000 kcal, i.e. the practice of a volume of 2.5 hours per week of moderate-intensity physical activity (or its equivalent high) is associated with lower rates of cardiovascular disease and premature mortality. The HAS insists on the fact that any increase in one’s level of physical activity, provided that it is regular, is already good for your health. The beneficial effects of physical activity gradually disappear in two months in the event of complete cessation. Physical activities must therefore be continued throughout their life, adapted to their age and state of health.
