Summary of key findings

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Physical activity of Canadian adults: Accelerometer results from the 2007 to 2009 Canadian Health Measures Survey

Publication: Health Reports 2011:22(1) www.statcan.gc.ca/healthreports

Authors: Rachel C. Colley, Didier Garriguet, Ian Janssen, Cora L. Craig, Janine Clarke and Mark S. Tremblay

Data: Canadian Health Measures Survey 2007 to 2009

New international and proposed Canadian guidelines recommend that to obtain substantial health benefits, adults should accumulate at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity a week. According to new data from the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS), 15% of Canadian adults attain this level of activity.

By gender, the guidelines for adults were achieved by 17% of men and 14% of women.

The CHMS used accelerometers to collect objective measures of physical activity and sedentary behaviour for a nationally representative sample of Canadians aged 6 to 79. The data show that the majority of waking hours of both adults and young people are sedentary.

Adults spend about an average of 9.5 hours a day in sedentary pursuits, the equivalent of about 69% of their waking hours.

Overall, about one-half (53%) of adults accumulate at least 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity one or more days a week, but this means that almost as many (47%) do so less than one day a week.

About 5% of adults accumulate 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity on a regular basis, that is, at least 30 minutes at least 5 days a week.

At ages 20 to 39, men engage in more moderate-to-vigorous physical activity than do women. On average, men accumulate 27 minutes a day of such activity, compared with 21 minutes for women. Obese men accumulate 19 minutes a day, while obese women accumulate 13 minutes.

Men average about 9,500 steps a day, compared with 8,400 for women. This daily average is significantly lower at ages 60 to 79—7,900 steps for men and 7,000 steps for women. Obese men and women accumulate significantly fewer steps per day than do adults with a healthy weight.

Roughly one-third (35%) of men and women achieve the well-known pedometer target of 10,000 steps a day.

Full article

For more information about this article, contact Didier Garriguet (1-613-951-7187; Didier.Garriguet@statcan.gc.ca), Health Analysis Division, Statistics Canada.