Physicians who have more healthy habits are more likely than doctors without such habits to recommend five important lifestyle modifications to patients, including eating healthy, limiting sodium, maintaining a healthy weight, limiting alcohol and being more physically active.
In a survey of 1,000 physicians about their lifestyles and whether they recommend national guideline lifestyle modifications to patients with high blood pressure, researchers found:
- Four percent smoked at least once a week.
- Almost 39 percent ate the recommended five or more cups of fruits and vegetables a week.
- About 27 percent exercised five or more days a week.
- About 66 percent made all five lifestyle recommendations to patients.
- Doctors who exercised at least once a week or didn't smoke were about twice as likely to recommend the five interventions.
Source: American Heart Association