Making Physical Activity Accessible

This post is written by Josh Trierweiler.

Josh serves as a Health Educator at Heartland Health Centers - Lincoln Square.

Serving as a Health Educator at Heartland Health Centers this year, I spend the majority of my time meeting with patients one-on-one to address how to improve and better control their weight or obesity related disorders. Besides talking about food, I almost always try to take a few minutes to emphasize the importance of regular physical activity. Whether the problem is diabetes, high cholesterol, or high blood pressure, being active is a certain way to help control the condition.

However, after meeting with enough patients, it became clear that the recommendation of regular physical activity is not ground-breaking news. Whether the patient knows nothing or almost everything about nutrition, they have all been told they should be exercising before, and the same advice coming out of my mouth seemed unlikely to do much more. The problem also got me thinking about the healthy people I know. Even other CHC members and myself, people who want to be future leaders in public health, discuss how we probably should be exercising more than we are, but lack the time or motivation. Particularly during the winter months, being regularly active is a challenge for just about everybody.

Putting this problem back into my patients' perspective, the obstacles that lead to physical inactivity become that much more daunting. Whether it is a lack of time due to a job and raising kids, a lack of money to commit to an exercise facility, an unsafe environment that limits activities outdoors, or simply the fact that exercising with an obesity related condition is more difficult than when one is young and healthy, the importance of regular exercise can fall fairly low on a patient's priority list. The solution to the obesity epidemic needs to address how to get the medically underserved more active.

Fortunately, the city of Chicago has begun to address the issue. The Chicago Park District now allows seasonal'exercise prescriptions." With a doctor's note, this program gives a 12-week free pass to an exercise facility for people with a health condition that exercise may help alleviate. Additionally, The Chicago Public Health Department puts on weekly free low-impact aerobic exercise classes at community centers in underserved neighborhoods. These programs give people with limited resources an opportunity to try and make a healthy lifestyle change. While the incredible amount of pay-to-run 5Ks and yoga studios are great for public health, the obesity and physical inactivity epidemic in Chicago needs more programs like those started by the Chicago Park District and Chicago Department of Public Health to fully address this public health problem.