Fit doctors are more likely to ask their patients about how much exercise they are doing, a new study suggests.
Doctors who are less active are not as likely to inquire about their patients' levels of physical activity.
The new study, published in the British Journal of General Practice Open, concludes that doctors' own lifestyles influence their preventive counselling about physical activity.
The authors questioned doctors who were taking part in the Longitudinal Study of Norwegian Medical Students and Doctors.
Of the 526 medics who responded, 307 (58 per cent) said they usually or often probed their patients about their exercise habits.
Meanwhile doctors were less likely to ask patients about their drinking habits, with only 27 per cent asking their patients about how much they drink.
The study, led by experts from the University of Oslo, concludes: "The more physically active doctors were, the more they counselled on physical activity.
"No association was found between doctors' own alcohol habits and frequency of counselling on alcohol."
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