BODY : FITNESS & EXERCISE DO AS DOCTORS SAY NOT AS THEY DO.

Byline: Jacqueline Stenson Line Medical Tribune News Service

Stopping smoking, avoiding illicit drug use, wearing seat belts and drinking alcohol in moderation are the keys to a healthy lifestyle, according to a new survey of doctors.

But less than half of doctors polled said that eating a balanced diet, engaging in aerobic exercise at least three times a week, avoiding undue stress and decreasing salt consumption are ``very important'' for the average patient, according to the survey of more than 400 primary-care doctors in Massachusetts.

While the doctors said it is important to educate patients about health risk factors, most said they were inadequate in doing so, according to the survey, published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine.

And compared with a similar survey of Massachusetts doctors in 1981, fewer doctors in the new survey said that avoiding excess calories and eating a balanced diet was very important, the study showed.

``Physicians may be less attentive to their patients' diet today because of the lack of consistent data to support official dietary recommendations,'' said lead researcher Henry Wechsler, a lecturer in the department of health and social behavior at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.

``The doctor's reluctance to get involved in discussion of certain risk factors may reflect his or her time and cost concerns, particularly in the managed-care setting,'' Wechsler said. ``This probably makes it difficult for the physician to communicate adequately with each patient and to attend to unique, individual needs.''

But still, it is difficult for doctors to change patients' bad health habits, he said. What is needed is a societal recognition that behaviors such as smoking, abusing alcohol and overeating are health hazards, he said.