Increasing population levels of physical activity through primary care: GPs' knowledge, attitudes and self-reported practice

Background. GPs have the potential to increase population levels of activit y and thus produce important health gains. Objectives and methods. The aim of this questionnaire survey was to determi ne the knowledge, attitudes and self-reported practice of GPs towards promo ting regular physical activity and to assess the likely impact of GPs on po pulation levels of physical activity. Results and conclusions. A high response rate to the questionnaire was obta ined and the results suggest that GPs have a good level of knowledge of the health benefits of regular physical activity and the levels required to ac hieve these, but do not promote activity in a way that will have an impact on the population level.