A call from the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AMRC) for an end to over-zealous clinical interventions by doctors has been praised by ukactive executive director Steven Ward as a step in the right direction towards the use of physical activity as a frontline treatment.

The recent AMRC editorial, published in the BMJ, outlined a new initiative called Choosing Wisely, which aims to limit the amount of ‘expensive’ and ‘potentially harmful’ prescriptions and treatments used to treat patients based on a minimal evidence base. The authors say the current NHS system is skewed towards action for action’s sake, when often “doing nothing might be the favourable option.”

“A culture of ‘more is better,’ where the onus is on doctors to “do something” at each consultation has bred unbalanced decision making,” wrote the authors.

“This has resulted in patients sometimes being offered treatments that have only minor benefit and minimal evidence, despite the potential for substantial harm and expense.”

Although the article doesn’t explicitly cite exercise as a solution, Ward believes the support for alternatives to clinical intervention will offer encouragement to physical activity advocates. It follows a landmark Health Select Committee report in which Dr Sarah Wollaston MP called on medical professionals to harness the “extraordinary benefits of exercise in improving physical and mental health” to prioritise prevention as a public health strategy.

These sentiments were echoed by Ward, who said it is vital that the public health system tackles the root causes of issues, rather than simply seeking to treat them.

“ukactive welcomes this latest paper as a clear indication that the medical community are reading from the same page when it comes to preventative treatments, such as getting the nation moving rather than jumping straight for the clinical option,” Ward told Health Club Management.

“As we have seen with our own Let’s Get Moving service, simple changes in lifestyle – just moving more – have the power to radically re-define the healthcare landscape. Clinicians are a vital partner in calling on government to prioritise these types of intervention.”