Exercise Is Medicine Singapore (EIMS) is a programme spearheaded by Changi Sports Medicine Centre to make physical activity and exercise a standard part of preventing and treating diseases.
It aims to train and equip healthcare and fitness professionals with the necessary skills, tools and resources to prescribe exercise in the right dose to prevent and treat over 40 common chronic health conditions for patients and the public.
EIMS draws principles from the Exercise is Medicine global initiative by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).
Who are the target audiences for this programme?
EIMS is targeted at primary care physicians, medical specialists, allied health professionals and nurses, and fitness professionals. The programme will be tailored to these four target groups.
What will the programme involve?
Resources and tools, such as educational materials and an action guide, will be provided to guide healthcare and fitness professionals on how to prescribe physical activity in the ‘right dosage’ to prevent, treat and manage more than 40 common chronic health conditions for patients.
Workshops will also be organised for healthcare and fitness professionals to train them on the principles and recommended protocols.
Over the next few months, EIMS will roll out a calendar of workshops and an online platform of tools and resources. The programme aims to train at least 50% of the 6,000 healthcare and fitness professionals in Singapore in five years.
Who are the people behind EIMS?
A taskforce for EIMS has been established to develop the programme and its initiatives. Members of this task force consist of leading healthcare and fitness professionals from both public and private sectors, and include leading sports physicians as well as specialists in the areas of cardiology, endocrinology and oncology.
They include:
- Vice President of EIM at American College of Sports Medicine, Dr. Adrian Hutber
- Chairman of EIMS, Dr. Benedict Tan, who is also Head and Senior Consultant at Changi Sports Medicine Centre (CSMC)
- President of Sports Medicine Association of Singapore Dr. Kelvin Chew
- Cardiologist at National Heart Centre Dr. Peter Ting
- Head and Senior Consultant for Rehabilitation Medicine at CGH, Dr. Sherry Young
- Cardiologist at CGH, Dr. Tong Khim Leng
- Endocrinologist at CGH, Dr. Joan Khoo
- Senior Consultant for Psychological Medicine at CGH, Dr. Angelina Chan
- Oncologist at International Cancer Specialists, Dr. Elaine Lim
- Senior Clinical Physiologist at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Mr. Michael Lim
- Senior Manager for Rehabilitative Services at Jurong Health Services, Mr. Tan Hai Yang
- President of College of Family Physicians Singapore, Prof Lee Kheng Hock
Our partners in Singapore include Coca-Cola Singapore and Technogym, who are also the global partners of EIM. We are rolling out the programme with the support of Healthway Medical Group and Dynaforce, an award-winning fitness and wellness company.
What are the 40 chronic health conditions that EIMS will address?
The EIM website has a series of downloadable health fliers for patients and public to find out tips and guidelines on exercising with a chronic health condition. Some of the common chronic health conditions include arthritis, asthma, hypertension, lower back pain, osteoporosis, peripheral arterial disease and Type 2 diabetes among others.
For more information and the full list of the chronic health conditions, please visit
http://exerciseismedicine.org/YourPrescription.htm.
How will Singaporeans benefit from this programme?
EIMS will focus on making exercise part of the prescription for chronic disease treatment. This is based on strong evidence from the US on the significant impact of exercise on chronic diseases.
Data from the US has shown that regular physical activity at the correct intensity:
- Significantly improves overall health
- Reduces the risk of heart disease by 40%
- Lowers the risk of stroke by 27%
- Reduces the incidence of high blood pressure by almost 50%
- Reduces the incidence of diabetes by almost 50%
- Can reduce the mortality and risk of recurrent breast cancer by almost 50%
- Can lower the risk of colon cancer by more than 60%
- Can reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease by one-third
- Can decrease depression as effectively as medications of behavioural therapy
By training healthcare and fitness professionals to educate their patients on the importance of exercise as a prescribed treatment, they will also be equipped to reach out to the wider public. We also plan to engage with the public through forums and community events to encourage and enable healthy people to integrate exercise into their lifestyles.
Where can I find more information on EIMS?
Interested participants can find out more information by visiting http://exerciseismedicine.org/about.htm.
For additional queries, call 6850 1659 or email edmund_ng@cgh.com.sg