Impact of Physical Activity on Medical Students

Background: Medical students must withstand pressures of medical school to succeed while assimilating the stressful culture of medicine. Methods: This was an analytical cross-sectional study. The questionnaire used was a modified International Physical Activity Questionnaire and Oldenberg assessment to determine their physical health, level of physical activity and perception of exhaustion. Voluntary participants were enrolled after taking informed consent. Results: Data for 245 students was analysed out of which 108 (44.1%) were male and 137 (55.9%) were female. Low activity levels were found in 27 (9%), moderate in 55 (18.4%) and High in 217 (72.6%) students. Exhaustion was present in 65 (26.9%) students and disengagement was present in 24 (9.4%) students. Students with both academic and clinical responsibilities reported the highest frequency of exhaustion and disengagement, 30.1% and 15.5% respectively. We found a significant negative correlation between MET Scores and both exhaustion score and disengagement score, with r= -0.139 and -0.135 respectively (P < 0.001). Conclusion: The significant negative correlation between higher MET scores and lower frequency of exhaustion and disengagement shows that higher levels of physical activity in medical students improved their mental health. Our findings highlight the need for integration of physical activities in medical curriculum.