INCIDENCE OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
Abstract
Regular physical activity is widely recognized as a protective factor for physical and mental health; however, medical students often face barriers that hinder its practice. This systematic review aimed to synthesize scientific evidence on the prevalence of physical activity among medical students, identify associated factors, and analyze its relationship with depression, anxiety, and burnout. The review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA 2020 guidelines, using searches in PubMed and the Virtual Health Library (BVS) in August 2025. Studies published between 2020 and 2025, in English or Portuguese, that assessed physical activity among medical students were included. After screening 589 records, ten cross-sectional studies met the inclusion criteria. The findings revealed substantial variability in physical activity prevalence, ranging from approximately 40% to 87%, depending on region and assessment methods. Male sex, higher socioeconomic status, and normal body weight were consistently associated with higher activity levels, whereas lack of time emerged as a major barrier. Importantly, higher levels of physical activity were associated with lower symptoms of depression, anxiety, and burnout, suggesting a protective effect on mental health. Despite methodological limitations inherent to cross-sectional designs, the results highlight the need for targeted institutional strategies to promote physical activity within medical schools. Encouraging active lifestyles during medical training may improve students’ well-being and better prepare future physicians to promote healthy behaviors in clinical practice.
Author Biographies
Medical student at the Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros, MG, Brazil.
PhD in Health Sciences from the Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros. Professor in the Department of Physical Education and Sport at Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros, MG, Brazil.
Bachelor’s degree in Information Science from the Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros, MG, Brazil.
PhD in Health Sciences from the Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros. Professor in the Department of Physical Education and Sport at Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros, MG, Brazil.
PhD in Medicine (Neurology) from the Universidade Federal Fluminense. Professor in the Department of Physical Education and Sport at the Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros, MG, Brazil.
PhD in Medicine (Neurology) from the Universidade Federal Fluminense. Professor in the Department of Physical Education and Sport at the Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros, MG, Brazil.
PhD in Health Sciences from the Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros. Professor in the Department of Physical Education and Sport at the Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros, MG, Brazil.
PhD in Health Sciences from the Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros. Professor in the Department of Medicine at the Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros, MG, Brazil.
References
ALHAMMAD, Saad A.; et al. Níveis de atividade física entre estudantes de graduação da Faculdade de Ciências Médicas Aplicadas, Universidade King Saud, Riad: um estudo de prevalência. Medicine, v. 102, n. 48, p. e36386, dez. 2023 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/md.0000000000036386
ALNOFAIEY, Y. H.; ATALLAH, H. M.; ALRAWQI, M. K.; ALGHAMDI, H.; ALMALKI, M. G.; ALMALEKY, J. S.; ALMALKI, K. F. Correlation of Physical Activity to Mental Health State and Grade Point Average Among Medical Students in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study. Cureus, v. 15, n. 6, p. e40253, 2023 DOI: https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.40253
CELIE, Bert; LAUBSCHER, Ria; BAC, Martin; SCHWELLNUS, Marianne; NOLTE, Kim; WOOD, Paola; CAMACHO, Tanya; BASU, Debashis; BORRESEN, Jill. Poor Health Behaviour in Medical Students at a South African University: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, v. 21, n. 7, p. 824, jul. 2024 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21070824
DĄBROWSKA-GALAS, M.; PTASZKOWSKI, K.; DĄBROWSKA, J. Physical activity level, insomnia and related impact in medical students in Poland. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, v. 18, n. 6, p. 3081, 2021 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18063081
DHACHPRAMUK, D.; SONJAIPANICH, S.; THEPPIBAN, S.; IN-IW, S. Exercise, mental well-being and burnout in Thai medical students in 2020–2021: an online cross-sectional survey. BMC Medical Education, 2024 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05843-y
FADUL, M. H.; FADUL, A.; EISSA, A. Y. H.; ELHASSAN, A. Z. W. M.; MANHAL, G. A. A.; ABDELG AFOUR, R. H. Physical Activity Among Medical Students at the University of Khartoum, Sudan, 2022: Knowledge, Practice, and Barriers. Cureus, v. 15, n. 9, p. e45914, 2023 DOI: https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.45914
ALHAMMAD, Saad A. et al. Níveis de atividade física entre estudantes de graduação da Faculdade de Ciências Médicas Aplicadas, Universidade King Saud, Riad: um estudo de prevalência. Medicine, v. 102, n. 48, p. e36386, dez. 2023 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/md.0000000000036386
ALNOFAIEY, Y. H.; ATALLAH, H. M.; ALRAWQI, M. K.; ALGHAMDI, H.; ALMALKI, M. G.; ALMALEKY, J. S.; ALMALKI, K. F. Correlation of Physical Activity to Mental Health State and Grade Point Average Among Medical Students in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study. Cureus, v. 15, n. 6, p. e40253, 2023 DOI: https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.40253
CELIE, Bert; LAUBSCHER, Ria; BAC, Martin; SCHWELLNUS, Marianne; NOLTE, Kim; WOOD, Paola; CAMACHO, Tanya; BASU, Debashis; BORRESEN, Jill. Poor Health Behaviour in Medical Students at a South African University: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, v. 21, n. 7, p. 824, jul. 2024 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21070824
DĄBROWSKA-GALAS, M.; PTASZKOWSKI, K.; DĄBROWSKA, J. Physical activity level, insomnia and related impact in medical students in Poland. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, v. 18, n. 6, p. 3081, 2021 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18063081
DHACHPRAMUK, D.; SONJAIPANICH, S.; THEPPIBAN, S.; IN-IW, S. Exercise, mental well-being and burnout in Thai medical students in 2020–2021: an online cross-sectional survey. BMC Medical Education, 2024 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05843-y
FADUL, M. H.; FADUL, A.; EISSA, A. Y. H.; ELHASSAN, A. Z. W. M.; MANHAL, G. A. A.; ABDELG AFOUR, R. H. Physical Activity Among Medical Students at the University of Khartoum, Sudan, 2022: Knowledge, Practice, and Barriers. Cureus, v. 15, n. 9, p. e45914, 2023 DOI: https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.45914
GRUJIČIĆ, M.; ILIĆ, M.; NOVAKOVIĆ, B.; VRKATIĆ, A.; LOZANOV-CRVENKOVIĆ, Z. Prevalence and associated factors of physical activity among medical students from the Western Balkans. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, v. 19, n. 13, p. 7691, 2022 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19137691
HERREROS-IRARRÁZABAL, D.; GONZÁLEZ-LÓPEZ, M. F.; NUCHE-SALGADO, R.; DE SOUZA-LIMA, J.; MAHECHA-MATSUDO, S. Physical activity levels and sedentary behaviour according to sex, age, BMI, academic year, and country among medical students in Latin America. BMC Public Health, v. 24, art. 1699, 2024 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-19133-1
MORGAN, T. L.; McFADDEN, T.; FORTIER, M. S.; SWEET, S. N.; TOMASONE, J. R. Do physical activity intensity and sedentary behaviour relate to burnout among medical students? Insight from two Canadian medical schools. Canadian Medical Education Journal, v. 15, n. 5, p. 54–63, jul. 2024 DOI: https://doi.org/10.36834/cmej.79169
ORGANIZAÇÃO MUNDIAL DA SAÚDE. Physical activity. [S. l.]: OMS, 2024. Disponível em: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/physical-activity Acesso em: 14 ago. 2025.
REJALI, Mehri; MOSTAJERAN, Mahnaz. Assessment of physical activity in medical and public health students. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, v. 2, p. 19, 2013 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/2277-9531.112690
SAMARKANDI, O. A. Prevalence of Physical Activity Among Healthcare Students in King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: An Observational Study. Inquiry, v. 59, 2022 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00469580221100157
SATTI, Muhammad Zubair; KHAN, Tayyab Mumtaz; QURAT-UL-AIN, Qurat-Ul-Ain; AZHAR, Muhammad Junaid; JAVED, Hassan; YASEEN, Mariam; RAJA, Maria Taskeen; ZAMIR, Areeba; HAMZA, Muhammad. Association of physical activity and sleep quality with academic performance among fourth-year MBBS students of Rawalpindi Medical University. Cureus, v. 11, n. 7, p. e5086, 6 jul. 2019 DOI: https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.5086
STANFORD, Fatima Cody; DURKIN, Martin W.; STALLWORTH, James Rast; POWELL, Caroline Keller; POSTON, Mary Beth; BLAIR, Steven N. Factors that influence physicians’ and medical students’ confidence in counseling patients about physical activity. Journal of Primary Prevention, v. 35, n. 3, p. 193–201, jun. 2014 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-014-0345-4
STRATAKIS, K.; TERZIĆ-ŠUPIĆ, Z.; TODOROVIĆ, J.; NEŠIĆ, D.; NOVAKOVIĆ, I. Physical activity and mental health of medical students. Central European Journal of Public Health, v. 32, n. 1, p. 39–44, 2024 DOI: https://doi.org/10.21101/cejph.a8097
License
Copyright (c) 2026 RECIMA21 - Revista Científica Multidisciplinar - ISSN 2675-6218
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Os direitos autorais dos artigos/resenhas/TCCs publicados pertecem à revista RECIMA21, e seguem o padrão Creative Commons (CC BY 4.0), permitindo a cópia ou reprodução, desde que cite a fonte e respeite os direitos dos autores e contenham menção aos mesmos nos créditos. Toda e qualquer obra publicada na revista, seu conteúdo é de responsabilidade dos autores, cabendo a RECIMA21 apenas ser o veículo de divulgação, seguindo os padrões nacionais e internacionais de publicação.