LOS ANGELES – Physicians appear to meet Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for exercise, but they fall short when it comes to getting enough sleep and consuming an adequate amount of fruits and vegetables.
Those are key findings from a survey of 20 Tennessee-based physicians from a variety of medical specialties whom Deepti G. Bulchandani, MD, presented at the annual scientific & clinical congress of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists.
Inspired by her daughter, Eesha Nachnani, Dr. Bulchandani, an endocrinologist with Saint Thomas Medical Partners in Hendersonville, Tenn., created a survey in which physicians were asked about their nutritional habits, as well as how much sleep and exercise they were getting. The duo found that only half of the survey respondents were eating at least 1.5-2 cups of fruit and 2-3 cups of vegetables a day, as recommended by the CDC, and only half were consuming less than 2,300 mg of sodium per day. They also found that only one in four physicians were sleeping more than 7 hours a day on a regular basis. The good news? All respondents met the recommended CDC guidelines for exercise.
“What was most neglected was sleep,” Dr. Bulchandani said. “[Electronic medical reports are] taking a lot of time. We do have [work hours] protection for residents, but physicians don’t have rules that are set for them. I think that is taking a toll.”
Dr. Bulchandani reported having no financial disclosures.