Irish Government Develops National Exercise Plan

The government of Ireland is the first ever to launch a National Physical Activity Plan for its citizens. The goal of the plan is to increase the number of people taking regular exercise by 1% a year over ten years. Officials hope to accomplish this objective by making exercise a normal part of everyday life and giving people more opportunities to be active.

The World Health Organization has identified a lack of physical activity as the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality, directly implicated in 6% of deaths worldwide. The plan notes that approximately 3.2 million deaths each year are attributable to insufficient physical activity. Drafters of the plan wrote that “as a society and as healthcare professionals, we have both a responsibility and an opportunity to create health and prevent disease by promoting exercise, in parallel to treating illness.”

Commenting on the plan Padraig Sheeran (MB ChB, FFARCSI, FRCSEd., FFSEM, DTM&H, FJFICMI), Dean of the Faculty of Sports and Exercise Medicine (FSEM), said: ‘Whilst the FSEM has been engaging on a range of activities including physical activity plans for teenagers with and without chronic disease it is only with wide ranging initiatives that real change will be achieved. As health professionals with a strong interest in sports and exercise, we would like to congratulate the Government on this plan, and hope to work with the various departments and implementation group to achieve the targets set out in the overall plan.”

The Faculty of Sports and Exercise Medicine is a joint faculty between the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.