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Thu May 16, 5:43 PM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Thursday that doctors need to increase their efforts to promote physical activity among the older set.
Only 52% of respondents said their doctor asked about their level of physical activity or exercise during a medical checkup in the previous year, according to a report in the May 17th issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). This finding backs up a 1999 study showing that less than half of older adults say their doctors have recommended exercise, the CDC notes.
Women were less likely than men to be asked about their physical activity. Doctors were also less likely to talk about exercise with patients who were older or less educated compared with patients who were younger or more educated.
Obese individuals were more likely to be asked about physical activity than normal-weight individuals.
For men and women, "the prevalence of older adults who met recommended levels of physical activity was higher among those asked (36%) than among those not asked (23%)," the CDC reports.
"The data send a message that there is an opportunity here to encourage older adults to become more active," Dr. Judy Kruger of the CDC told Reuters Health. "Older adults are the least physically active, they have the most contact with the health care system and they regard physicians as a key source of advice. So it's kind of a logical setting to encourage or inquire about physical activity," she added.
SOURCE: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2002;51:412-414.
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