The Piaget Institute has just integrated a new course in its training offer. The Masters in Exercise and Health proposes to provide answers to those who wish to acquire in-depth skills to assess and prescribe exercise in a clinical context, namely in cardiovascular and metabolic disease, oncology, psychological and musculoskeletal diseases.
The new course aims to train professionals with academic, scientific and pedagogical competence to prescribe physical exercise, as well as intervene in different contexts with people who have chronic pathologies. Simultaneously, the course will qualify students for the profession of exercise physiologist.
Despite the recognition of the importance of sport and physical activity in the European Union, the latest Eurobarometer data show that around half of European citizens never do exercise or sport. The numbers even show a gradual increase in inactivity in recent years. As a result, mortality and the incidence of diseases resulting from physical inactivity have increased.
It is within this framework that the new course, to be taught at the Almada Campus, intends to contribute to the promotion of healthy lifestyles. The purpose is to combat sedentary lifestyle habits and control diseases resulting from physical inactivity, as well as evaluating and prescribing exercise for both healthy populations and populations with pathologies.
Among the course’s strengths, we highlight its post-working hours, recognition as a specialist exercise physiologist by APFE and the partnership with companies for training courses integrated into the master’s, at no additional cost to students. No less important is access to the research laboratory equipped with modern biomechanical and physiological assessment instruments.
In terms of professional opportunities, the new Master’s program allows us to work on exercise prescription for clinical populations, such as pregnant women, diabetics and patients with heart disease; participate in multidisciplinary health intervention teams, such as clinical exercise centers, sports training centers and day centers; and with complementary training, be certified in certain specific modalities for exercise prescription, such as, for example, in an aquatic environment.
