ARE TOMORROW´S SPANISH DOCTORS PREPARED TO COMBAT PHYSICAL INACTIVITY?

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of knowledge that Spanish medical students had about current global physical activity (PA) recommendations provided by the World Health Organization (WHO). A total of 334 medical students (2nd-6th degree years) from 29 Spanish universities completed a questionnaire of knowledge about WHO’s global PA recommendations. All respondents (100%) stated that recommending PA is an important part of a physician´s role, but only 34.1% felt prepared for it. 85.0% and 72.5% of respondents did not know the PA recommendations for adults and children respectively. Likewise, 94.3% of respondents demanded more education in PA, with an optional/elective subject during the degree, being the preferred method of learning. The lack of knowledge regarding PA recommendations by medical students is evident and alarming. Increasing the education focused on these contents through optional subjects could reverse this situation.