{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.03801348865726548, 'fraction_numerical': 0.01900674432863274, 'mean_word_length': 4.849462365591398, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
A Comparison of the Aerobic Capacity Wellness of Female and Male Physical Therapist Members of the American Physical Therapy Association

Background and Purpose: Since gender is a determinant of Aerobic Capacity Wellness (ACW) and physical therapy (PT) is a female‐dominated profession, the purpose of this study was to investigate the ACW of a sample of physical therapists (PTs) and compare the results according to gender. Subjects: Participants were 146 (65.07% female, 34.93% male) volunteers from a random sample of PT members of the APTA. Methods: The Physical Fitness Wellness Survey (FWS) was used to assess the ACW of the subjects. Analyses included descriptive, nonparametric, and parametric statistics of the subjects' ACW. Results: As determined by the FWS, 27.4% of the female PTs and 19.6% of the male PTs were found to have a satisfactory level of ACW. While the ‘average’ female respondent engaged in AC exercise slightly more than 3 times per week (ie, 3.19 ± 1.99), the ‘average’ male respondent engaged in AC exercise slightly less than 3 times per week (ie, 2.96 ± 1.84). Discussion and Conclusion: Both female and male PTs are ‘unwell’ in terms of ACW and therefore mirror the typical US American rather than other groups of health care professionals. In contrast to US American females, who possess less ACW than their male counterparts, the females in this study did not. As PTs can enhance patient outcomes by integrating wellness into clinical practice and are wellness role models, PTs should possess a proficiency in wellness and exhibit a high level of personal wellness, particularly fitness wellness.