Abstract P443: Move for Health: Pedometer Based Assessment for Physical Activity among Resident Physicians at a Busy New York City Hospital

Background: Regular physical activity (PA) improves mental health and decreases the incidence of coronary heart disease. Current guidelines recommend >10,000 steps/day (s/d) as an appropriate PA target. We studied the self-perception of PA among the physicians and compared it with an objective measure using a pedometer. Methods: 85 internal medicine physicians,91% residents (age: 30±3.8 yrs; 57% Male) were enrolled in this study. Demographic and international physical activity questionnaire (IPAQ) were obtained. Participants were instructed to wear an Omron HJ-720 pedometer all day except during sleep to record average s/d over a 7 day period. The pedometer steps were not made visible to the participants. Physicians were stratified according to sedentary lifestyle [SL] (7500 s/d). Results: Mean daily steps were 6521 ± 2524 s/d. Only 8(9.4%) participants reached the recommended target of >10,000 s/d. Mean daily steps at work (6AM to 5PM) were 4420±2242 s/d, which constituted 68% ± 24% of their daily PA. There were 26 (31%) subjects in the SL group (3551 ±1075 s/d), 27 (32%) LA group (6340 ± 819 s/d) and 32 (38%) in SA group (9086 ± 1243 s/d). Step count did not correlate with age, gender, BMI, foreign or American medical graduate, PGY status, or type of rotation (floors,ICU, electives). At the time of enrollment, 56% of physicians stated that they achieve “enough” PA. According to the IPAQ, 61% of physicians were in the high PA group. However, these PA levels did not correlate with objective pedometer measurements. SA group had higher work time PA (p Conclusion: Despite the perception of being PA, most physicians in our study did not achieve the recommended daily steps/day. “Walking at work” is not enough to reach recommended PA targets. Future research is needed for successful strategies to create awareness and improve PA among physicians.