ABSTRACT
Introduction: A healthy lifestyle is one of the most effective ways that can help one to improve their wellbeing, prevent diseases and to achieve an active and disability-free old age. It is important to eat healthy, exercise and not to smoke – these principles must be emphasized when advising patients of all age groups in order to achieve the aforementioned results.
Aim: The aim of this study was to identify whether general practitioners tend to explain the principles of a healthy lifestyle for their patients.
Methods: Anonymous questionnaires were used and filled by general practitioners during patient visits to ‘SŠMC’ to collect data including their date of birth, risk factors (smoking, obesity, BMI >25kg/m2, alcohol consumption), the ICD-10-CM code of a chronic disease in cases the disease was the reason the patient seeked the general practitioner, and identified whether the patient was made familiar with the ways of his or her lifestyle improvements.
Results: The risk factor alcohol consumption was identified for 38 patients (2.2 percent), 1654 patients (97.7 percent) deny the alcohol consumption. It was not identified that the ways to improve a lifestyle were more often explained for those who were consuming alcohol: explained for 13 consumers (35.1 percent), and for 409 who does not consume (24.7 percent) (p>0.05).
The risk factor obesity (BMI >25 kg/m2) was identified for 255 patients (15.07 percent). It was found that the ways to improve a lifestyle were statistically significant more often explained for obese patients than for non-obese: it was explained for 100 (39.2 percent) obese patients, and for 322 (22.4 percent.) non-obese patients (p<0,01).
The risk factor smoking was identified for 341 patients (20.17 percent), 1350 (79.83 percent) of patients were non-smokers. The ways to improve a lifestyle were statistically significant more often explained for smokers (125 [36.7 percent]) than for non-smokers (298 [22.0 percent]) (p<0.01).
Conclusions: 1. The principles of a healthy lifestyle were most often explained for the age group of 18-24 years and rarely for the groups of <17 years patients. 2. It was identified that healthy lifestyle was more often explained for obese patients (BMI >25 kg/m2) and for smokers. 3. It was not identified that general practitioners more often explain the healthy lifestyle for those with a chronic disease than for those who did not have one.