Physicians' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors Regarding Physical Activity Recommendations
Yılmaz Yüksel1
, Emre Bilgin2, Gıyasettin Demirhan2, Mustafa Arıcı3
1Physical Education Teacher Education Department, Hasan Doğan Faculty of Sport Sciences, Karabuk University, Karabük, Türkiye
2Physical Education Teacher Education Department, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Türkiye
3Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Türkiye
Keywords: Physical activity, exercise prescription, physician counseling, medical education, health promotion
Abstract
Objective: Physical inactivity is a major modifiable risk factor for non-communicable diseases in developing countries. With over 70% of adults in Türkiye remaining inactive, this study aimed to assess physicians' knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding physical activity counseling to identify gaps and support clinical improvement efforts.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 1,099 practicing physicians across Türkiye using a 24-item questionnaire developed through literature review, expert evaluation, and pilot testing. The questionnaire covered demographics, training background, PA knowledge, attitudes, and counseling behaviors. Descriptive statistics and ordinal logistic regression were used to identify factors associated with self-perceived competence.
Results: A substantial proportion of physicians had not received training on physical activity counseling during their undergraduate (77.8%) or postgraduate (88.3%) education. While 97.6% recommended basic exercises such as walking or cycling, 70.5% were unaware of national physical activity guidelines, and 58.6% reported not engaging in regular physical activity themselves. Most physicians spent less than three minutes per patient on counseling and provided no written exercise prescriptions. Ordinal logistic regression revealed that younger age, male gender, lack of training, and physical inactivity were paradoxically associated with higher self-perceived competence.
Conclusion: The findings highlight critical gaps in physician education and clinical practice regarding physical activity promotion. Integrating structured, evidence-based PA training and standardized counseling methods into medical education is essential to enhance physicians' competency and to effectively support public health goals.
Cite as: Yüksel Y, Bilgin E, Demirhan G, Arici M. Physicians' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding physical activity recommendations.Turk J Sports Med. 2026; https://doi.org/10.47447/tjsm.0919
The approval for this study was obtained from Hacettepe University Ethics Committee, Ankara, Türkiye (Decision no: 433-1409, Date: 29/03/2018).
Concept: GD,MA; design: EB,GD,MA; supervision: GD,MA; materials: EB,YY; data collection and/or processing: EB,YY,MA,GD; analysis and interpretation: EB,YY; literature review: EB,YY; writing manuscript: EB,YY; critical reviews: GD,MA. All authors contributed to the final version of the manuscript and discussed the results and contributed to the final manuscript.
The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to authorship and/or publication of the article.
The authors received no financial support for the research and/or publication of this article.
