Level of Physical Activity of Physicians Among Residency Training Program At Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Riyadh, KSA 2014.

INTRODUCTION Physical exercise is a crucial component in maintaining a healthy life. Unfortunately, the prevalence of adequate physical activity among young physicians is low. Additionally, there was a few research estimating lifestyle habits and other preventive health measurements especially during their residency-training program despite the importance of this topic. OBJECTIVES The aim of this research is to determine the level of physical activity and the main barriers of being physically active among physicians at Prince Sultan Military Medical City (PSMMC). METHODS An analytical cross-sectional study was adopted targeting the physicians of residency training program in different specialties at PSMMC, Riyadh, KSA. Data was collected using of short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). RESULTS The study showed that 68.4% of the participants had low level of physical activity (≤600-MET min/week). High physical activity level was more reported among male physicians compared to female physicians (4.3% versus 1.3%). The most frequent barriers of practicing physical activities among males were limited exercise facilities at home (71.7%), not suitable weather (69%) and the first priority is not for exercise (67.2%) whereas among females were no enough time to exercise (69.3%), lack of suitable places to exercise nearby (68%), the first priority is not for exercise (66.7%). CONCLUSION Most of the physicians especially female residents reported low level of physical exercise due to many barriers. Overcoming these barriers may contribute to a further increase in the level of physical activity among them.