Canadian medical students' perceived motivation, confidence and frequency recommending physical activity

Despite the evidence supporting the benefits of physical activity in the prevention and treatment of most medical conditions, physical activity remains under-prescribed by physicians. Medical students will form habits during training that they are likely to maintain as future physicians. The overall purpose of this study was to investigate the underlying mechanism(s) contributing to frequency in recommending physical activity, to provide insight into how we can increase physical activity recommendations in future practice as physicians. First to fourth year medical students at three Canadian universities responded to an online survey (N = 221; 12% response rate) between November 2017 and January 2018. Results revealed that engaging in strenuous physical activity was a strong predictor for frequency in recommending physical activity to patients (p < .001). Confidence in recommending physical activity mediated the relationship between strenuous physical activity and frequency recommending physical activity (p = .005); motivation did not mediate this relationship. Students were more motivated, than they were confident, to assess, advise, counsel, prescribe and refer patients regarding physical activity (p < .05). While 70% of students stated they are aware of the Canadian physical activity guidelines, only 52% accurately recalled them. Findings suggest that increased training related to physical activity should be included in the medical school curriculum to increase students' confidence to recommend physical activity. Another way to increase confidence and frequency in recommending physical activity is to help students engage in more strenuous physical activity themselves, which will ultimately benefit both medical students and their future patients.