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Prescribing exercise for women

  • Women's Issues (MA Goolsby, Section editor)
  • Published:
Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

One- half of women in the United States do not meet the weekly dose of physical activity recommended by the Centers for Disease Control. Many women could benefit tremendously if they were to adopt a more active lifestyle. Health benefits from exercise include lowering the risk for cardiovascular disease, slowing the rate of bone loss in osteoporosis, and improving mood during pregnancy. In this article, we review the health benefits that women may gain from physical activity and the recommendations for physical activity for adults in the United States. We offer evidence supporting use of the exercise prescription, discuss how to write an exercise prescription, and how to tailor the exercise prescription for women with particular medical problems.

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Conflict of interest

Carlin Senter declares that she has no conflict of interest. Nicole Appelle declares that she has no conflict of interest. Sarina K. Behera declares that she has no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Medicine and Orthopedics, University of California, San Francisco, 1500 Owens Street, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA

    Carlin Senter

  2. Division of General Internal Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, 1545 Divisadero, 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA

    Nicole Appelle

  3. Departments of Cardiology and Pediatrics, California Pacific Medical Center, 3700 California Street, Ste 1560, San Francisco, CA, 94118, USA

    Sarina K. Behera

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  1. Carlin Senter
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Correspondence to Carlin Senter.

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Senter, C., Appelle, N. & Behera, S.K. Prescribing exercise for women. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med 6, 164–172 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12178-013-9163-1

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