Health

Doctors’ bad attitudes towards exercise hurting patients: Study

Apr 02, 2018

Getting active can make a big difference to your health.

Doctors’ personal attitudes towards exercise are affecting the way they treat patients, a new Australian study has found.

A Queensland research team says unfit doctors are more likely to reach for the prescription pad than advise patients to get moving, despite evidence physical fitness is an effective treatment for many conditions.

The team wrote there was “considerable evidence for the benefits of physical activity for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, musculoskeletal conditions, some cancers, mental health and dementia”.

“Yet there remains a large evidence–practice gap between physicians’ knowledge of the contribution of physical inactivity to chronic disease and routine effective assessment and prescription of physical activity.”

The findings were published in the Medical Journal of Australia on Monday.

Previous studies have shown GPs around Australia, and many other countries, are over-prescribing medications, leading to opioid addiction and antibiotic resistance. While some doctors have previously said they often feel pressured to prescribe pills to please patients, the Australian Medical Association (AMA) has warned off handing out medication to appease patients.

The study’s research team backed up the AMA’s approach and said doctors need to educate themselves on the benefits of exercise.

“It has been consistently shown that physically active clinicians are more likely to provide physical activity counselling to their patients … Similarly, medical students who regularly engage in vigorous exercise have a more positive attitude to counselling future patients about exercise.”

“Conversely, medical students who do not meet the minimum physical activity guidelines tend to place a lower value on physical activity and exercise prescription to patients. Worryingly, physical activity levels tend to decrease during medical training and through residency,” they wrote.

The authors noted that one of biggest barriers to prescribing physical activity was “a lack of undergraduate training at medical schools”. In one UK study, “nearly half the students did not feel confident about providing physical activity advice to patients”.

“Medical schools, health care facilities and professional bodies should provide opportunities and supported programs to increase and maintain the physical activity of clinicians and medical students.”

“The lack of undergraduate and postgraduate training in physical activity and exercise prescription must be addressed in order to increase the knowledge, confidence and skills of physicians in prescribing exercise as medicine to their patients,” the authors concluded.