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Welcome to the ExerciseRx website!

The website is developed to go with a health promotion project, the Exercise Prescription Project, which aims at promoting physical activity among members of the public through coordinated efforts of the Government, medical practitioners, sports facilitators and the community.

Physical activity promotion is an important public health endeavour because physical inactivity takes a world toll of 2 million deaths every year. Health care providers play a critical role in promoting physical activity to their clients. The concept of exercise prescription by providing written personalised health advice on doing exercise to patients have been tested among groups of general practitioners in countries like Australia, the USA and UK with favourable outcomes. In Hong Kong, the Department of Health (DH) conducted a randomized controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of incorporating this concept in 2003. The result also showed significant improvement in clients' motivation to do exercise.

In view of the above, DH is collaborating with the Hong Kong Medical Association (HKMA), other relevant government departments, sports facilitators, and non-governmental organizations to implement the Exercise Prescription Project by phases.

This thematic website is developed to serve 2 purposes:

1. Empower health professionals with knowledge and technique on prescribing exercise in their clinical settings; and
2. Arouse public awareness on doing regular physical activity.