Do Adventure Sports Have a Role in Health Promotion? Need for Objective Evidence for a Risk-Benefit Analysis
Physical Activity Series Do adventure sports have a role in health promotion? Need for objective evidence for a risk-benefit analysis Jamie F. Burr MSc PhD William J. Montelpare PhD Roy J. Shephard MD PhD DPE FACSM he past 20 years have seen a dramatic shift in the settings under environmental conditions that expose focus of health care, from the intuition and unsys- participants to various types of risk.8 Ttematic clinical judgments of an earlier generation to evidence-based health promotion and treatment.1 Perceptions One of the many advantages of this focus on evidence- During recent years, there has been a tendency among based practice is that, where possible, emotionally the young and middle-aged segment of the population charged decisions have been replaced by careful assess- to engage in ever more dangerous adventure sports,9 ment of risk and benefit, using empirical data. Nowhere including mountain biking,10 mountain trekking,11,12 is this more obvious than in the field of sport and exer- snowboarding,13 skateboarding,13 surfing,14 windsurf- cise medicine; there is now strong evidence supporting ing,14 parachuting, bungee jumping, BASE (building, the prescription of physical activity (PA) for the primary antenna, span, earth) jumping,15-18 hang-gliding,19 rock and secondary prevention of many chronic diseases and climbing,20,21 and skiing.22 According to data from the their associated complications.2 Like most treatments, Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association,23 a range no form of PA is completely devoid of risk,3 but current of adventure sports is now being adopted by mil- information suggests that in most situations the risk of lions of North Americans.
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