| World Congress on Exercise is Medicine | |
|---|---|
| Name | World Congress on Exercise is Medicine |
| Status | Active |
| Genre | Conference |
| Frequency | Biennial |
| Venue | Varies |
| Location | Varies |
| First | 2011 |
| Organizer | Exercise is Medicine Global |
| Participants | Healthcare professionals, researchers, policy makers |
World Congress on Exercise is Medicine The World Congress on Exercise is Medicine is an international conference convening World Health Organization, American College of Sports Medicine, American Medical Association, Royal College of Physicians, European Commission, Pan American Health Organization, and other institutions around physical activity, clinical practice, and public health. The congress brings together representatives from Harvard Medical School, Stanford University School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, and Karolinska Institutet to translate exercise science into clinical guidelines, policy recommendations, and education initiatives.
The congress functions as a hub connecting World Health Organization, United Nations, World Bank, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, European Medicines Agency, National Health Service (England), and regional bodies such as Health Canada with academic partners like Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California, San Francisco, University of Melbourne, University of Toronto, and Peking University. Attendees include clinicians from Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, and Karolinska University Hospital as well as researchers affiliated with Max Planck Society, CNRS, Fraunhofer Society, CSIRO, and Tokyo Medical and Dental University. Industry and advocacy organizations such as World Obesity Federation, American Heart Association, British Heart Foundation, International Olympic Committee, and UNICEF also participate.
Early roots trace to collaborations among American College of Sports Medicine, Exercise is Medicine initiative, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Cardiology, European Society of Cardiology, and Canadian Medical Association. Founding meetings involved leaders from Royal Society, National Academy of Medicine, Institute of Medicine (US), Wellcome Trust, Gates Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and national agencies including Australian Department of Health and Ministry of Health (Brazil). Subsequent development featured partnerships with universities such as University of Sydney, University of Copenhagen, Seoul National University, National University of Singapore, and University of Cape Town alongside professional societies like British Journal of Sports Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association, The Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine, and Nature Medicine.
Key objectives align with priorities espoused by World Health Organization, United Nations General Assembly, Sustainable Development Goals, European Commission Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, and World Bank Health, Nutrition and Population sector: integrating physical activity into clinical care, advancing exercise prescription standards used by American Medical Association, harmonizing training curricula among Royal College of Physicians, European Respiratory Society, American College of Sports Medicine, and informing policy in line with Global Action Plan on Physical Activity and WHO Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health. Themes often intersect with work from International Society for Clinical Densitometry, International Society of Sports Nutrition, International Society for Physical Activity and Health, World Psychiatric Association, and International Diabetes Federation.
The congress is organized by a coalition including Exercise is Medicine Global, American College of Sports Medicine, World Health Organization, and host institutions such as University of São Paulo, Peking University Health Science Center, University of Barcelona, and McMaster University. Governance structures reflect advisory boards drawing experts from National Institutes of Health, European Research Council, Wellcome Trust, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Royal Australasian College of Physicians, and professional associations like American College of Sports Medicine, British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Asian Federation for Sports Medicine, and African Society for Sports Medicine.
Notable editions have been hosted in cities and institutions including Boston, London, Sydney, São Paulo, Tokyo, Barcelona, Toronto, Seoul, Cape Town, and Beijing. Each edition has featured plenaries with contributors from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Yale School of Medicine, Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Imperial College London, King's College London, University of Edinburgh, Trinity College Dublin, and University of Zurich. Panels and workshops have drawn leaders from American College of Cardiology, European Society of Cardiology, International Olympic Committee, World Anti-Doping Agency, FIFA Medical Committee, International Paralympic Committee, World Bank, OECD, UNESCO, and major journals such as The Lancet Public Health.
The congress catalyzes research collaborations among institutions like Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Salk Institute, Riken, Institut Pasteur, Karolinska Institutet, University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health, and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Educational outputs influence curricula at Harvard Medical School, Oxford University Medical School, UCL Medical School, and professional training by Royal College of General Practitioners, American Board of Internal Medicine, and European Board of Cardiology. Policy influence is evident in citations across documents from World Health Organization, European Commission, United Nations, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Health Canada, Australian Department of Health, Ministry of Health (New Zealand), and regional health ministries.
Participation spans clinicians, researchers, policy makers, and representatives from organizations such as American Heart Association, European Heart Network, World Obesity Federation, International Diabetes Federation, International Society for Physical Activity and Health, American College of Sports Medicine, British Heart Foundation, Wellcome Trust, Gates Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, UNICEF, and WHO. Awards and recognition at the congress have honored contributors affiliated with Nobel Prize laureates, fellows of Royal Society, recipients of the Lasker Award, Banting Medal awardees, and leaders from institutions like Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Massachusetts General Hospital, Sheba Medical Center, and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin.
Category:Medical conferences