title: Promotion of physical activity by Canadian Registered Dietitians in daily practice.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Dietitians are in an opportunistic position to promote healthy eating and active living. The purpose of this study was to determine counselling strategies of dietitians 1 year after attending a workshop designed to strengthen dietitians' self-efficacy for promoting physical activity (PA) as an adjunct to regular nutrition practice.
  
  
  METHODS
  A convenience sample of Registered Dietitians (RDs) in Alberta, Canada (n=103) responded to an invitation via an electronic newsletter to complete a web-based survey that asked about counselling practices related to PA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-seven workshop attendees (n=37) were compared with a group of dietitians (n=66) who completed the survey but who did not attend the workshop. Nearly all (91%) respondents reported promoting PA in daily practice. Those who attended the workshop were more likely to refer clients to PA professionals (chi2=12.68, P<0.05) than those who were not workshop attendees.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite a relatively modest response rate, there were clear suggestions that RDs in Alberta, Canada promote PA in daily practice and attending a workshop designed to facilitate the use of specific tools and strategies for promoting PA in daily practice resulted in increased referral of their clients to exercise specialists.
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Alberta, Agriculture Forestry Centre, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
authors.forename: S T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bates
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fitzpatrick
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Marshall
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: McCargar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000416:Alberta; D004046:Dietetics / Q000193:education / Q000379:methods*; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D010353:Patient Education as Topic