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Aug 3, 2025 – article in The Medical Independent featuring Professor Andrew O’Regan, UL School of Medicine 

“There’s a rapidly growing evidence base for physical activity and health,” Dr Andrew O’Regan, Associate Professor, School of Medicine, ��ɫ��Ƶ (UL), told the Medical Independent 

Dr O’Regan, a GP in Killarney, Co Kerry, has a particular interest in physical activity and chronic disease. He told the Medical Independent that adequate levels of physical activity that are maintained throughout a lifetime are a major factor in chronic disease prevention: “Also, when chronic diseases are acquired, maintaining or starting or increasing physical activity levels can reduce complications and crucially premature mortality.” 

According to Dr O’Regan, “General practice can be a highly effective environment to promote physical activity on a one-to-one level,” he said. The priority for the GP is to help the patient to understand why they are not getting enough physical activity and come up with a plan on how they can incorporate regular and consistent physical activity into their daily lives at a level that is appropriate for them. 

Dr O’Regan is the co-author of a recent interview study examining how GPs manage physical activity advocacy for patients and their own self-care . 

“GPs are aware of the importance of physical activity and understand how to promote it,” said Dr O’Regan. “One of the challenges up until now has been the intensity of working in general practice and the ‘firefighting’ nature of the job.” 

He described the introduction of the chronic disease management programme as “a step in the right direction”, allowing protected and structured time for the GP to consult with some patients on “key lifestyle factors, including physical activity”.