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Effectively influencing life style risk factors in patients constitute a major challenge for future doctors. We know that healthier doctors provide better preventive care and try to influence patients’ life style behavior more often. In order to provide better medical educational programs, it is therefore important to know how medical students’ opinion about this issue is in relation their own life style.
Methods
All medical students from the two largest medical schools in the Netherlands received an invitation to participate in an online questionnaire study in 2010. Their opinion about of whether a healthy life style status of the doctor is needed to effectively change the life style behavior in patients was asked for with a Likert scale. Several current life style behaviors of the students were assessed through valid screeners. Descriptive analyses and statistical tests were performed.
Results
From the 2,016 respondents (response rate 41%), 70% agreed with the idea that a healthy life style status of the doctor is needed to effectively change the life style behavior in patients. Their own current life style behaviors indicated the following prevalence of risk factors: 10% were smokers, 8% performed too little exercise, 16% had adverse waist circumference, 19% had unhealthy body mass index, 51% showed unhealthy food intake patterns, and 55% unhealthy alcohol intake. The percentage of students that agreed with the impact of doctor’s life style on preventive patient care was significant lower when their own food intake was unhealthy (66%), when they were a smoker (47%), and when their alcohol intake was unhealthy (66%).
Discussion
The life style of medical students is worrying when our future doctors should be active in preventive medicine. Influencing their life style behavior during their medical education might enhance the chance that they will succeed in changing their future patient’s health behavior.