ASSESSMENT OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN MEDICAL STUDENTS IN A CITY, A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY

Background:Physical inactivity and the associated health problems pose a current and growing threat to public health. Todays medical student is a future physician. There is an increase in morbidity and mortality among doctors due to noncommunicable diseases. Physical activity plays an important in the prevention of non-communicable diseases, including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and stroke. Metabolic equivalent task is used as a means of expressing the intensity of physical activitiy.

Aims and Objective:To assess physical activity in MBBS students in a medical college.

Material and Methods:It was a cross-sectional study conducted on 200 medical students (129 males and 71 females) aged between 18-25 years. Physical activity of MBBS students was assessed in detail with respect to the time, type and quality of activity. IPAQ (short) questionnaire was used and information was asked about three specific types of activity such as walking, moderate-intensity activities, and vigorous-intensity activities and calculation of MET was done.

Results: The MET score was calculated from IPAQ and it was found that 28.5%, 45.5%, and 26% of students fall in low, moderate, and high physical activity groups, respectively.

Conclusion:It was observed that nearly a quarter of medical students had low physical activity as calculated by MET. Follow up study in students in the academic period is needed to identify the trend of physical activity among them.