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Physical activity: exercise referral schemes

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2014)

NICE - N/A

Evidence Categories

  • Care setting: Healthcare Setting
  • Population group: Adults
  • Intervention: Exercise programmes
  • Outcome: Change in physical activity

Type of Evidence

Guidance

Overview

"This guideline covers exercise referral schemes for people aged 19 and older, in particular, those who are inactive or sedentary. The aim is to encourage people to be physically active."

Recommendations

"This guideline includes recommendations on: exercise referral for people who are sedentary or inactive but otherwise healthy; exercise referral for people who are sedentary or inactive and have a health condition or other health risk factors. Recommendation 1 states that policy makers and commissioners should not fund exercise referral schemes for people who are sedentary or inactive but otherwise apparently healthy. Primary care practitioners should not refer people who are sedentary or inactive, but otherwise apparently healthy, to exercise referral schemes. Recommendation 2 states that policy makers and commissioners should only fund exercise referral schemes for people who are sedentarty or inactive and have existing health conditions or other factors that put them at increased risk of ill health (such as risk factors for coronary heart disease, stroke or type 2 diabetes).They should be referred if the scheme incorporates the core techniques outlined in recommendations 7 to 10 of NICE's guideline on behaviour change: individual approaches."