In May 2021, the Dutch Association for Sports Medicine mobilized 15 organizations to collaborate on a taskforce charged with establishing an Exercise is Medicine® National Center in the Netherlands. Led by Professor Frank Backx, M.D., Ph.D., the taskforce united organizations from the fields of health care and exercise to convey the message “exercise is medicine.” These 15 national collectives stand together in their commitment to build a strong network encompassing physical activity/exercise in which clinical health care providers, public health care providers and exercise professionals work together proactively toward the prevention and treatment of chronic ailments to optimally influence the physical and mental health and fitness of the Dutch population.
In September 2022, the EIM Netherlands National Center was officially recognized by the American College of Sports Medicine®. This recognition is an important milestone in the realization of a national exercise network in the Netherlands. More importantly, the nation’s many well-intentioned initiatives around exercise and health will now be coordinated and channelled together under one banner.
Presently, a selection of the 15 partnering national organizations are working to develop an EIM project led by Professor Hans Zwerver, M.D., Ph.D. More information to come in the near future!
