The pressures facing today’s GP are well documented and ever increasing. Consultation numbers are rising while average real terms funding has decreased. Alongside the falling numbers of GPs, doctors’ well-being is suffering with a knock-on effect on patient care.
In a recent survey, 57% of GPs reported their workload to be unmanageable and at times impacting quality and safety of care.1 Stress, burnout, and mental health problems are prevalent among GPs, with doctors twice as likely to be depressed or have alcohol and/or substance dependence than the general population.2 It is therefore imperative that we safeguard and enhance the health and well-being of our doctors, using the twin levers of physical activity and being less sedentary.
The typical GP works long hours and is largely desk-based; the simple fact is that many GPs do not move much in their working day. Physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor for death worldwide.3 Increasing physical activity reduces mortality and morbidity of chronic diseases (big killers) such as cardiovascular disease and cancer, as well as type 2 diabetes, dementia, and depression. For example, a large systematic review showed that physical activity reduces the risk of breast cancer by 20% and colon cancer by 30–50%.4
A GP that shifts from being sedentary to doing some physical activity has the largest potential health gains: just 10 minutes a day of moderate intensity physical activity can add almost 2 years to life and being active in line with the government guidelines can add almost 3 years (Figure 1).5