PRACTICING OF PHYSICAL EXERCISE AMONG ACADEMIC STAFFS IN FACULTY OF MEDICINE: IS IT VARIES WITH SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS?

Healthy lifestyle and regular physical exercise are well documented preventive factors of several chronic diseases. As the frontline of health care services, medical practitioners should be among the healthiest members of the community. Unfortunately most of the physicians have routinely neglected their own health in favor of their profession and personal obligations. Hence, the stress due to increased workloads and long working shifts may adversely affect the habit of engagement in physical exercise. To evaluate the adequacy of physical exercise performance and to identify the barrier in performing physical exercise among medical staffs A cross sectional study was conducted among the academic staffs of Faculty of Medicine UiTM. Each participant was given structured questionnaire to be answered. The questionnaire consists of 1) socio-demographic and medical details and 2) practice of exercise. A total of 155 participants enrolled. More than half of them were performing exercise. Jogging was the most performed exercise followed by body stretching and cycling. Tiredness, time constraint and work commitment were identified as important barrier in performing exercise. Ethnicity was significantly associated with practice of exercise (x2=4.101, OR: 0.285, 95%CI 0.79-1.02). Clinicality of academic staffs was also associated with adequacy of exercise (x2=3.861, OR: 2.567, 95% CI: 0.99-6.68). Despite living in medical line, lecturers of Faculty of Medicine UiTM practice exercise.