Time dedicated to physical activity among medical residents: are there differences based on gender or specialty type?

Physical activity (PA) is associated with positive health outcomes such as prevention of chronic diseases, psychological well-being and improved work performance. Medical residents are subjected to sleep deprivation, extended work schedule and high burnout prevalence. These conditions may lead to the neglect of personal health and the restriction of time dedicated to PA. The objective of the present study was to analyze the time dedicated to PA of medical residents, comparing women vs men residents and surgical vs clinical residents.

It is a cross-sectional study performed in a Spanish third-level university hospital. All medical residents from our institution were invited to voluntarily participate in the study answering a web-based questionnaire on June 2022. Data regarding demographics, residency and PA practice was recorded.

The response rate was 20.73% (114/550). The 32.5% of the residents considered themselves to be physically inactive and mean time dedicated to PA in a regular week was 3.62 ± 2.22 h. Men residents dedicated more time to PA than women residents (4.23 ± 2.42 h vs 3.14 ± 1.95 h, p = 0.012) and surgical residents dedicated more time than clinical residents (4.33 ± 2.36 h vs 3.23 ± 2.05 h, p = 0.01).

One third of the medical residents consider themself physically inactive. Women and clinical residents practice PA less time than men and surgical residents. Efforts should be made to encourage PA among residents, especially in women and non-surgeons.