Exercise as Medicine

Graduating from the University of Colorado in Boulder I landed my first job as a pharmaceutical sales representative working everything North of Denver. It was a great first job, company car, an expense account, and part of my territory included most of the popular snowboarding spots. I would go out everyday and try to convince physicians that my products were the best choices for their patients suffering from poor cardiovasucular health.

I would start many of my conversations with a patient picture; "Doctor, let me ask you, do you have one of those out of shape, middle aged patients that has tossed exercise to the curb years ago and has uncontrolled hypertension?" Many of them would shake off the image they see every morning in the mirror and agree with me that they did have this type of patient. The thing was that they all had this type of patient and I new it; my job was to convince them to prescribe a pill instead of pushing a better way of life.

Medicine is changing, the price of health care is getting higher while the coverage offered by employers is decreasing. In this hostile environment you can't help but to be proactive about your health and doing what is best for yourself and the people you care about. Exercise is medicine, inexpensive and available to everyone, it can be taken a couple times a day or as needed. You should never skip a dose but if you do, make it up the next day and it will work just as well.

In the commentary "Exercise is Medicine" by Harold Elrick, MD, Dr. Elrick sites the eight most common preventable medical disorders in the US: "heart disease, cancer, stroke, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, and osteoporosis." These are diseases of the lazy and overworked, what has happened to our society, what are we living for, and why our we dying out of shape and over weight?

There will never be a pill, surgery, or medical procedure that could benefit and enhance so many aspects of an individual the way exercise does. I am not just talking about diseases, fitness positively augments intelligence and thinking in general by increasing blood flow to the brain. Losing weight promotes positive self-image and increases self esteem; you feel better, look better and save the money that you would normally spend on a therapist.

When I worked in surgery I would often hear doctors say, "you either pay for it now or suffer with it later." The wisdom in these words echo in my head every time I miss a workout or see an obese person struggling up stairs or watch my mom smoke another cigarette. Going into this year you have to stop making excuses, stop thinking about why should you exercise and realize how much better you will feel when you do. This isn't a bitter pill to swallow, but if it does give you any problems just hide it in some peanut butter, you won't even know the difference.