Physical Activity and Exercise Prescription
Participating in regular physical activity (PA) and maintaining sufficient cardiorespiratory fitness provide significant health benefits for everyone, including individuals with cardiovascular risk factors such
as obesity. Healthcare professionals should aim to incorporate physical activity as a core therapeutic approach, since all forms of exercise positively influence cardiovascular, metabolic, and mental health.
This section will outline general principles for prescribing physical activity, while also exploring strategies for developing more precise, individualised exercise prescriptions to optimise treatment outcomes
in people with obesity. It will emphasise that exercise training should specifically target cardiometabolic risk, physical fitness, and overall quality of life. Achieving these goals requires tailoring exercise programmes to each individual’s phenotype, functional capacity, and personal preferences.
Exercise Terminology
This resource was developed for the PROMINENCE Open Education Resource (OER) by Prof. Dr. Dominique Hansen
of the Hasselt University, Belgium.
Practical Approach - Tailoring Exercise Prescription
FITT Principles
Physical Activity on Prescription (PAP)
Prescription of Physical Activity (PAP) for Obesity: Short Lecture and Workshop
This session introduces physiotherapy students to the concept of physical activity on prescription (PAP) as a strategy for managing obesity. Through a concise lecture and interactive workshop, students will gain insight into evidence-based approaches for prescribing physical activity, explore practical case studies and develop skills to tailor interventions to individual patients.
Physical Activity on Prescription Template
This resource was developed for the PROMINENCE Open Education Resource (OER) by Professor Cecilia Fridén and Johanna Zetterlund, PhD, of the Mälardalen University (MDU), Sweden.
Exercise Training in the Management of Overweight
and Obesity in Adults
The infographic presented here is based on the work of an expert group convened by the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO). It summarises scientific evidence on the health and well-being benefits of exercise training and outlines key current recommendations for exercise-based therapy for individuals living with overweight and obesity.
This resource was developed by the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO) and is shared with permission
for inclusion in the PROMINENCE Open Education Resource (OER). For more information, visit easo.org.