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Achievement of physical activity recommendation and activity levels in students of human medicine compared with the general Austrian population aged between 20 and 29 years

Erfüllung der Österreichischen Empfehlungen für gesundheitswirksame Bewegung und Aktivitätsniveau bei Medizinstudentinnen und Studenten im Vergleich mit der Österreichischen Allgemeinbevölkerung im Alter von 20 bis 29 Jahren

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Summary

Weekly 150 min of moderate to vigorous physical activity and muscle-strengthening activities are a major public health goal. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire—short form was applied in 467 students of the 4th year at the Medical University of Vienna and compared with subsamples of data from the Austrian Health Interview Survey, 795 subjects with and 1131 subjects without higher education aged 20–29 years. Median values for weekly total energy expenditure were 3083, 3048, and 3816 MET-minutes (P < 0.001) in medical students, higher and lower educated subjects of the general population. Energy expenditure with vigorous intensity was highest in medical students. A total of 39.4 % of medical students reached the minimum requirements of the national physical activity recommendations. Although medical students are taught those recommendation and are aware of their health benefits, only a minority reach them. If medical students engage in physical activity, they do it with higher intensity than the general population.

Zusammenfassung

Körperliche Aktivität im Ausmaß von 150 Min pro Woche und muskelkräftigende Aktivitäten sind wichtige Public Health Ziele. Die Kurzform des International Physical Activity Questionnaires wurde bei 467 Medizinstudenten im 4ten Jahr angewendet und mit Daten der Österreichischen Gesundheitsbefragung verglichen. Dazu wurden 795 Personen mit einem höheren und 1131 Personen mit einem niedrigen Ausbildungsniveau im Alter von 20–29 Jahren herangezogen. Der Median für den wöchentlichen Energieverbrauch lag bei 3083, 3048 und 3816 MET-Min (P < 0,001) für die Studentinnen und Studenten bzw. der Vergleichsgruppe mit höherem bzw. niedrigerem Ausbildungsniveau. Der Energieverbrauch mit höherer Intensität war bei den Medizinstudentinnen und –studenten am höchsten. 39,4 % der Medizinstudierenden erreichten die Minimalempfehlungen für gesundheitswirksame körperliche Aktivität. Obwohl diese Empfehlungen gelehrt werden und die Gesundheitseffekte durch Bewegung den Medizinstudierenden bekannt sind, erreicht nur eine Minderheit tatsächlich das empfohlene Ausmaß. Wenn Medizinstudenten körperlich aktiv sind, dann machen sie das mit höherer Intensität als die Allgemeinbevölkerung.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Ms. Bettina Maier who participated in the collection of the date and used the data for her diploma thesis. Additionally, we would like to thank Statistik Austria for providing the data set of the AT-HIS. There was no financial support for the study.

Author contribution

C. Lackinger drafted the manuscript; T. E. Dorner designed the study, processed and analyzed the data, and contributed to the writing of the manuscript.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Social Medicine, Centre for Public Health, Medical University Vienna, Kinderspitalgasse 15, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    Christian Lackinger & Thomas Ernst Dorner

  2. Department of Health Promotion and Prevention, SPORTUNION Österreich, Vienna, Austria

    Christian Lackinger

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  1. Christian Lackinger
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  2. Thomas Ernst Dorner
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Correspondence to Christian Lackinger.

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Lackinger, C., Dorner, T. Achievement of physical activity recommendation and activity levels in students of human medicine compared with the general Austrian population aged between 20 and 29 years. Wien Med Wochenschr 165, 116–123 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10354-015-0350-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10354-015-0350-0

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