Local health authorities push new medical-sports model to promote health awareness

Shanghai's health authorities are cooperating with professional sports facilities and universities, promoting a new model to boost public health while preventing and controlling chronic diseases.

A medical-sports model will enact health services and disease management, before people have suffered serious consequences of chronic diseases due to unhealthy lifestyle and poor disease management, officials told a livestreaming program on Tuesday during the 6th China International Import Expo in Shanghai.

The Shanghai Health Commission is making use of the CIIE platform to launch a total of 80 livestreaming programs to promote health education, introduce new technology and innovative medicine, and enhance people's awareness of chronic diseases, a major health threat.

Proper physical exercise is a good "prescription" for multiple diseases like diabetes, hypertension and obesity, said Wang Ru, director of the Shanghai University of Sport's School of Exercise and Health.

"Our team has developed sport instructions for 26 diseases by an individualized and whole-process guidance, based on people's health information, disease risk and physical data.

"Scientific exercises can raise heart and lung function, drop the risk of arteroscierosis and reduce depression and anxiety. The World Health Organization suggests each adult should do at least 150 minutes of medium-intensity aerobic exercise, or 75 minutes of high-intensity aerobic exercise, and overall strength training at least twice a week," said Wang.

The new model has been proving useful. The Shanghai Health Commission and Shanghai Sports Bureau launched a program in December last year, offering sport guidance for over 20,000 employees in 1,330 enterprises.

The program has received very positive effects with participants dropping 4 to 5 kilograms on average. 90 percent of people with sleeping problems reduced dosages or stopped taking medicine, while 40 percent of people with hypertension dropped dosages under doctor's instruction, and 75 percent of people with diabetes also reduced dosages or stopped medication because of improvement of data, the commission said.