Exercise prescription provides patients with clear expectations and instructions for performing physical activity that appropriate for their level of fitness and health Exercise prescriptions that detail intensity duration and frequency have been shown to be effective in increasing physical activity among women with osteoporosis and adults with multiple sclerosis Exercise prescriptions may help chronically ill patients realize that physical activity is often as necessary for health maintenance and improvement as medication Additionally the fact that Instructions are individualized and appropriate for the patient increases the chances that the intervention will be successful testing has been used successfully as a component of interventions in adults with multiple sclerosis and older adults with chronic illness
Stimuli and cues were components of many physical activity interventions that produced modest effect sizes in the 2008 mete-analysis involving chronically ill adults such stimuli may take the form of calendars automated phone calls beepers or other prompts that fit the patients circumstances for instance placing walking shoes by the bedroom door may act as a reminder to take an early morning walk friends may call each other several times a week to remind each other to exercise family involvement has been used as a stimulus in programs aimed at increasing physical activity in adults with diabetes in one such study spousal participation in an exercise and diet program effectively prompted adherence in female obese adults with type 2 diabetes