Health behaviors and health status of Canadian physicians: Data from the canadian physician health study

Purpose: To describe the health behaviors and health status of Canadian physicians. For the first time in the Americas, we will be able to draw conclusions about a country's physicians' basic health practices versus those of others in the population. Prior data has shown that this has considerable implications for physicians' clinical behaviors, and hence the health of the entire population. Methods: A mail survey of randomly sampled physicians, conducted in 3 national mailing waves between November 2007 and May 2008, with n=3,213 responders. Results: Women (33% of the population) exercised mildly a median of 90 minutes per week, moderately 45 minutes/week, and vigorously 30 minutes/week; men exercised mildly 90 minutes/week, moderately 60 minutes/week, and vigorously 45 minutes/week. Among these physicians, 8% were obese (BMI >=30), 1% typically consumed >=5 drinks on days when they drank, and 3% currently smoked cigarettes; they averaged 5 fruits and vegetables/day. Conclusions: Compared with the general Canadian population, Canadian physicians are healthy, and have healthy personal practices, including habits regarding some of the most important health risks: weight, diet/exercise, smoking, and binge drinking. There is, however, room for improvement, and improving physician health could be an efficient and beneficial way to improve the health of all Canadians