Recommendations for physical activity within the general population: Is this all what we need to keep us healthy?
From European Journal of Preventive Cardiology
Over the years many studies in more than 100,000 individuals have clearly documented that the higher the level of physical fitness, the less likely an individual will suffer premature cardiovascular death. In this issue several experts in the field give recommendations from the European Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation with respect to primary prevention in the general population regarding type, volume and intensity of physical activity. The articles suggest that the focus during the forthcoming years should be on developing strategies to convince people to increase their physical activity thereby preventing premature cardiovascular death. This goal can only be reached by the engagement of national agencies or health insurance companies by providing funding to develop such programs. Thereby one has to keep in mind that the programs are easy to incorporate into daily life. Therefore, it is time to use all of the knowledge gathered during the last century and the recommendations available, and translate these into a practical working system for the health of our society.
