Commentary on: "Physical activity education in the undergraduate curricula of all UK medical schools. Are tomorrow's doctors equipped to follow clinical guidelines?"

A recent survey of medical schools in the UK has revealed a wide ranging level of teaching in physical activity promotion, but was reported as sparse overall.(1) Physical inactivity causes an estimated 6-10% of major non-communicable diseases globally including type 2 diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease, and certain types of cancer.(2) In the UK, a third of the adult population do not meet the recommended levels of physical activity outlined by the Department of Health.(3) The House of Lords Select Committee Science and Technology's July 2012 report on sport and exercise science and medicine refers to building on the Olympic legacy of London 2012 to improve a nation's health. It highlighted a lack of awareness and appropriate training for health professionals on the benefits of exercise based treatments.(4) With increasing levels of obesity and sedentary lifestyles, Weiler et al. raise the question whether doctors' training truly reflects the needs of this changing nation's demographic.(1) Weiler et al. employed a telephone survey and questioned all 31 medical schools in the UK. This revealed that five medical schools did not include any specific teaching in physical activity. Of the 12 that quantified the hours spent teaching physical activity, this was only 4.2 hours in the entire curriculum. Only 15 medical schools taught the Chief Medical Officer's recommendations for physical activity.