Does your general practitioner know whether you’re a runner or a Zumba junkie? If your answer is no, your doc’s probably sedentary, according to a new study. Healthcare providers who are physically active are more likely to talk to their patients about exercising, finds recent research presented at a conference hosted by the American Heart Association a couple of weeks ago.
Researchers did a systematic review of 24 observational studies that involved multiple types of healthcare providers, including physicians, nurses, and pharmacists. In 23 out of 24 of the studies, there was a significant association between healthcare providers’ activity level and their counseling. In the six studies that allowed for direct comparison, active doctors were two to five times more likely than non-active ones to have the fitness talk with their patients.
If a healthcare provider values exercise and finds time for it, it’s easier for him or her to discuss all of those details with patients, says Felipe Lobelo, MD, PhD, an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion and co-author of the study. “So in this sense, practicing what your preach makes a difference,” he says.
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