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By Dominique Delmas, Communications Intern

A group of students is working to encourage doctors to prescribe physical activity for the treatment and prevention of disease and illness.

“We want people to recognize how potent of an effect exercise can have on physical and mental health. Research has shown that if exercise is prescribed from your doctor, the likelihood that you’ll try and start a program is much higher,” says Andrea Brennan, co-president of Exercise is Medicine Canada at Queen’s (EIMC @ Queen’s).

Last year, three exercise physiology graduate students came together to establish the club, making Queen’s the first Canadian university to officially join the EIMC task force. Exercise is Medicine is an international campaign to develop resources for primary care physicians and other health care providers to assess and prescribe exercise for patients.

The Queen’s team worked on a pilot project last fall with the introduction of exercise prescription referral resources and forms for Queen’s Health Services. EIMC @ Queen’s is revising the forms and hopes to reinstate them in the near future. EIMC @ Queen’s recently integrated its physician resource guides and exercise prescription referral forms into the Loyalist Family Health Team clinic located in Amherstview.

“We tailor our programs to the specific setting they’re going to be implemented in. For example, we focused on conditions like lower back pain, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes with the Loyalist Family Health Team project, whereas we focus more on mental health with the student population,” says Sara Giovannetti, co-president of EIMC @ Queen’s.

We want people to recognize how potent of an effect exercise can have on physical and mental health.

– Andrea Brennen, Co-President, EIMC @ Queen’s

The club organized a free public lecture last fall by Dr. Steven N. Blair with over 100 community members in attendance. EIMC @ Queen’s collaborates with Dr. Robert Ross, Kinesiology and Health Studies faculty advisor, Dr. Stephen Archer, head of the Queen’s Department of Medicine, and student interest groups such as Student Wellness, Exercise and Athletic Training (SWEAT).

EIMC @ Queen’s will host an active Easter egg hunt on April 16 around campus to encourage students to be active during exam season. Participants from the Kingston community are welcome to register. Please contact eim@queensu.ca to register as an individual or team.

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Members of the Exercise is Medicine Canada at Queen's club.