Ohio Golf Journal November 2018

Golf Provides a Gateway to Great Health By Mike May I nternational scientists and doctors agree, going to the golf course is very similar to going to a local gym for a group exercise session or a cardio work- out. That’s the messages from the recently com- pleted 7th Congress of the International Society for Physical Activity and Health (ISPAH) in London. During this event, the results of a recent golf study, commissioned by the World Golf Foundation and supported by The R&A, revealed convincing evi- dence that playing golf can help burn calories and help trim everybody’s waistlines. This is a huge boost for the golf industry, in that worldwide leaders in public health, public poli- CY AND THE WORLD OF SPORT ÚRMLY BELIEVE THAT GOLF can play a major role in the race to tackle global physical inactivity to help prevent non-communi- cable diseases (NCD), which include heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer of the breast and colon. This is very important due to the fact that non-com- municable diseases are the cause of three quarters of all premature deaths in the world each year, according to Professor Fiona Bull, WHO Program Manager, Non-Communicable Disease Prevention. 4HE SCIENTIÚC RESEARCH ON THE HEALTH AND ÚTNESS BENEÚTS OF GOLF WAS CONDUCTED BY THE 5NIVERSITY OF Edinburgh (Scotland) and published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine as the 2018 Internation- al Consensus Statement on Golf and Health. The ÚNDINGS REVEAL THAT PLAYING GOLF IS ASSOCIATED WITH A RANGE OF PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH BENEÚTS &OR golf to reach the masses, it’s agreed that further col- laborative efforts are necessary to improve access for the sport, a glowing endorsement for more pub- lic golf courses. O h i o G o l f J o u rn a l