Belonging to a certified medical fitness facility like Winnipeg’s Wellness Institute or Reh-Fit Centre lowers a person’s risk of dying by 60 percent, compared with a similar person who does not attend such a facility, new research shows.
Members also have a 13 percent lower risk of being hospitalized, the 10-year retrospective study found.
And members who attend a medical fitness facility more than three times per week exhibit even better health, with a 39 percent lower risk of hospitalization.
The study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, is the first to examine the long-term health outcomes of those who attend a medical fitness facility, versus those who don’t.
The project was conducted by researchers at the Chronic Disease Innovation Centre (CDIC) at Seven Oaks General Hospital and the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy (MCHP) in the University of Manitoba’s Rady Faculty of Health Sciences.
“It’s exciting to see this dramatic evidence, based on a large population over a 10-year period, of the benefits of joining a medical fitness facility in preventing disease and premature death,” said Dr. Alan Katz, professor of family medicine and community health sciences, and director of the MCHP.
-UM Today News