What are medical students learning about physical activity? Experiences from a South African medical education programme: A cross-sectional study

Background While previous work has examined physical activity (PA) training in medical schools in high income countries, little is known about practices in low-to-middle income countries (LMICs). This study examined the attitudes, preferences, and behaviours of medical students at a major South African medical school towards receiving PA training, as well as changes across each year of school, in their medical education. Methods A paper-based questionnaire was administered in-person to medical students across all four years of the Graduate Entry Medical Programme (GEMP) between April and September 2021. The questionnaire queried students about their personal PA practices, knowledge, and attitudes, as well as PA training received during medical school. Results Medical student PA levels were low (34.8% self-reported meeting WHO PA recommendations) and decreased with increasing year in medical school. Nearly all students recognised the importance of PA in disease prevention and treatment (98.1%) and as an important part of future patient consultations (95.0%), but lacked PA knowledge, with only 9.1% and 5.2% of all medical students correctly reporting WHO PA requirements and demonstrating knowledge of core principles for providing an exercise prescription, respectively. A majority of students (82.3%) desired more PA training and several other items assessing medical student attitudes towards PA improved significantly with increasing year in medical school. Conclusions This study adds to existing literature, from a LMIC perspective, that provides strong evidence that medical students are interested in receiving PA training, understand its importance in their future work as health professionals, and feel unprepared to counsel future patients.