Reviews and Notes: Physical Medicine: Exercise for Prevention and Treatment of Illness

Exercise for Prevention and Treatment of Illness

L Goldberg and DL Elliot; eds. 344 pages. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis; 1994. $75.00. ISBN 0-8036-4163-X. Order phone 215-568-2270.

The editors, who are internists in charge of the Human Performance Laboratory at the Oregon Health Sciences University, declare that scientific evidence has only recently supported the widespread benefit of exercise. The various chapters, such as "Exercise in Healthy Individuals," "Exercise Treatment for Hypertension," "Exercise in the Prevention and Treatment of Low Back Pain," "Exercise and Obesity," "The Use of Exercise to Improve Lipid and Lipoprotein Levels," and "Cardiac Rehabilitation," to name but 6 of 16, were written by 20 contributors, most of whom are physicians. All chapters are referenced. One provocatively titled chapter, "Exercise and Cancer," was written by a professor of nursing, who cites two studies that show an inverse relation between exercise and colon cancer. Less controversially, this author also suggests continued exercise to preserve and increase the well-being of patients with cancer, using it "as a means of retaining functional capacity, independence, and quality of life for as long as possible."