Physical Activity (PA) of Pre-Clinical and Clinical Medical Students: Is Clinical Medical Student Less Physically Active than Pre-Clinical Medical Student?

Abstract

Background: An increase of sedentary behavior was observed in each year especially in clinical year. This accounts for a decrease in physical activities (PAs) of medical students, which could lead to reduced overall health and physical performance. Objective: To compare the levels of PA between pre-clinical and clinical medical students of Mae Fah Luang University (MFU) and to explored association between the levels of PA and school year. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between May and August 2019. Online questionnaire, including personal profiles and global PA questionnaire, were distributed to all MFU medical students currently studying in the academic year of 2019. Results: One hundred fifty-six medical students participated in the present study. From the questionnaires, 67.74% of pre-clinical medical students (n=63) and 52.99% of clinical medical students (n=36) had moderate to high levels of PA. Pre-Clinical students had significantly higher levels of PA by median metabolic equivalent value (MET) at 1,908.73 versus 1,339.05 MET-minutes/week (p=0.03). The sixth-year medical students increased risk of lower PA than the first year about 8.34 times (p<0.01). Conclusion: One-third of the medical students reported as having low levels of PA. Clinical medical students had reduced levels of PA compared to pre-clinical medical students. Therefore, PA should be promoted to help increase the overall health of medical students. Keywords: Physical activity; Metabolic; Equivalent; Medical Student; Clinic; Pre-clinic