Personal exercise habits and counseling practices of primary care physicians: A national survey

Objective: Regular physical activity can reduce the incidence and prevalenc e of many chronic diseases. A vast majority of Americans cite their physici an as their primary source of information regarding healthy lifestyle decis ions. This study was designed to obtain information about the personal exer cise behavior and counseling practices of primary care physicians, to evalu ate the relationship between their personal and professional exercise pract ices, and to determine whether physician specialty is associated with these practices. Design: A cross-sectional survey was mailed to a randomly selected sample o f primary care physicians in the United States. A questionnaire was used to obtain detailed information on the personal exercise habits, counseling pr actices, and barriers to counseling of these physicians, regarding both aer obic exercise and strength Graining. Participants: 298 primary care physicians, comprising 84 family practitione rs, 79 pediatricians, 58 geriatricians, and 77 internists. Main Outcome Measures: Frequency of physician exercise, exercise counseling , and relationship between these practices. Results: Physicians who perform aerobic exercise regularly are more Likely to counsel their patients on the benefits df these exercises, as are physic ians who perform strength training, Pediatricians and geriatricians counsel fewer patients about aerobic exercise than family practitioners and intern ists. Counseling regarding strength training is less common in all physicia n groups surveyed, and lowest among pediatricians, of whom 50% did not advi se these exercises for any of their patients Inadequate time was noted by 6 1% and inadequate:knowledge and/or experience by 16% of respondents as the major, barriers to counseling regarding aerobic exercise. Conclusion: Physicians who exercise are more likely to counsel their patien ts to exercise. Inadequate time and knowledge/experience regarding exercise are the most common barriers to counseling identified. These findings sugg est strategies that might increase physician exercise counseling behavior.