'Our biggest public health challenge comes from long-term (chronic) conditions' - Kilkenny Live

New physical activity guidelines have been commissioned by the HSE and developed by researchers from SETU.

These guidelines highlight the importance of regular physical activity to improve the health and wellbeing of people living with chronic conditions.

Life expectancy in Ireland is up there amongst the best in the world. However, with good life expectancy comes the challenge of living-well without infirmity. Indeed, the biggest public health challenge in Ireland comes from long-term (or chronic) health conditions.

These all-too-familiar conditions include certain cancers, diabetes, hypertension, depression, obesity and many other conditions that touch families across country and county. More than 13% of the Irish population live with at least one of these conditions.
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This number rises above 20% in those over the age of 60 years, according to a 2022 report from UCC.
Broadly, the guidelines have general recommendations and also offer nuanced messages for people ‘living well’ with chronic conditions. The general recommendations are for adults with chronic conditions to undertake regular physical activity that includes both muscle-strengthening activities and aerobic physical activity, such as walking or cycling.

Adults should aim for between two hours and 30 minutes and 5 hours of ‘moderately’ challenging activity per week. Muscle strengthening activities should include all major muscles, from lower legs to shoulders, and be done on two or more days a week. Many adults with chronic conditions, such as older persons, should also do balance exercises on three or more days of the week.

So, what of the nuanced messages to these guidelines? There is recognition that many people with such conditions may find the guidelines challenging. Therefore, people should start at whatever amount of activity is manageable for them.
The benefits from activity can be achieved at any level. People that do no activity stand to get enormous benefit from simply starting to do some.

The messages also advise that those looking to increase their activity levels, ought to increase the amount or frequency of activity first, before building intensity. Prolonged time being completely inactive, known as sedentariness, should also be limited.

Safety is important when doing activity with a condition. Most people with chronic conditions don’t need ‘medical clearance’ to do activity when they have learned to manage their condition.

However, warning signs like chest pain or unusual shortness of breath must not be overlooked. Feelings of exertion when doing activity are normal, but activity should not make ones condition symptoms get worse, and so both warning signs and worsening symptoms require advice from a health professional.

The benefits of activity for people with chronic conditions are considerable. Regular activity can help people to lead more independent and happier lifestyles.

It can also help conditions from getting worse and sometimes reverse symptoms. The research also speaks to benefits outside of weight loss, showing that the weighing scales is not a useful way to measure health benefits from activity. Finding and doing activity that one enjoys is the best way to stay active long-term. Any physical activity is good physical activity. “Every Move Counts.”

Kilkenny’s Dr Evan Matthews is a lecturer at SETU, and was the lead researcher on Ireland’s new physical activity guidelines for people with chronic conditions