Nearly half of American College of Surgeons members fail to meet aerobic exercise guidelines, while two-thirds fall short of strength training recommendations, according to a viewpoint published in JAMA Surgery. Researchers from Stanford University, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, and Harbor-UCLA Medical Center presented evidence-based strategies for surgeons to incorporate physical activity despite demanding schedules.
Surgical trainees, compared with non-surgical residents, demonstrated lower exercise participation, higher body mass indices, and reduced exercise capacity. Additionally, surgical trainees were less likely than their non-surgical counterparts to recognize physical activity and stress management as crucial lifestyle components.
Research-Backed Exercise Strategies
Weekend Activity Benefits
Observational data indicates that concentrating physical activity into 1-2 days per week yields comparable cardiovascular benefits to evenly distributed exercise. These benefits include reduced risk of atrial fibrillation, myocardial infarction, heart failure, and stroke.
Short-Duration Activity Impact
Brief physical activity bursts, even those lasting under 10 minutes, correlated with improved health outcomes. Findings show that 4-5 minutes of daily vigorous activity, accumulated in 1-to-2-minute intervals, reduced all-cause and cancer-related mortality risk by 26-30%, and cardiovascular disease mortality risk by 32-34%.
Step Count Findings
Meta-analyses have challenged the traditional 10,000-step benchmark, suggesting beneficial outcomes at lower thresholds with adults under 60 benefiting from 8,000-10,000 steps, and adults 60 and older benefitting from 6,000-8,000 steps. Typical hospital shifts contribute approximately 5,000 steps.
Zone 2 Training Results
Zone 2 training—a lower-intensity aerobic workout focused on maintaining 65-75% of maximum heart rate—is another exercise strategy. This intensity level was calculated by subtracting age from 180 to determine the upper heart rate limit. This approach to exercise is designed to optimize fat oxidation levels and mitochondrial health effects, improve metabolic flexibility changes, and reduce post-workout fatigue.
Reported Implementation Methods
The research identified several approaches for integrating exercise into surgical practice including office-based exercise equipment placement, walking meetings, departmental group exercise activities, and heart rate monitoring. The data show surgeons who maintain regular exercise regimens report decreased burnout rates and quality of life measurements.
Conflict of interest disclosures can be found in the viewpoint.
