TITLE:
Family physicians’ perception on environmental influences in promoting physical activity in their obese patients
AUTHORS:
Samuel N. Forjuoh, Chanam Lee, Suojin Wang, Yan Hong, Marcia G. Ory
KEYWORDS:
Barriers to Physical Activity; Environmental Barriers; Obesity; Physical Activity; Physician Counseling; Physician Practices; Walking
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Preventive Medicine,
Vol.2 No.4,
November
22,
2012
ABSTRACT: Although many obese patients do not engage in adequate physical activity (PA), little is known about whether physicians discuss environmental barriers in promoting PA. We conducted this study to describe physicians’ views about discussing environmental barriers in promoting PA with obese patients and determine whether counseling varies by years of practice. We conducted an online survey of family physicians practicing in 17 clinics in Central Texas. We performed descriptive analysis on barriers to PA, counseling on meeting PA recommendation, and written prescription for exercise and bivariate analysis by years of practice. Statistical significance was set at p