Health Fact Sheets
Healthy behaviours, 2015
Archived Content
Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.
This article combines four indicators of health behaviour into a single score, called the Healthy Behaviours Score (HBS), which counts the number of positive health behaviours an individual has. See ‘About the Healthy Behaviours Score’ and Table 1 for more information about the derivation and meaning of this score.
| Health indicator | Negative health behaviour associated with characteristic: | Positive health behaviour associated with characteristic: |
|---|---|---|
| Physical activityTable 1 Note 1 | Less than 150 minutes of activity per week | Physically active 150 minutes or more per week |
| Smoking status | Current daily or occasional smoker | Current non-smoker |
| Drinking status | Heavy drinkerTable 1 Note 2 in past 12 months | Not a heavy drinker in past 12 months |
| Fruit and vegetables consumption | Consumed fruits and vegetables less than five times per day | Consumed fruits and vegetables five or more times per day |
|
||
In 2015, 50.9% of Canadians aged 18 and older, or roughly 13.2 million people, had a HBS of 3 or 4.Note 3 Overall, women were more likely than men to have a score of 3 or 4 (55.1% of women, compared to 46.5% of men).Note 4 The difference in the HBS between the sexes was attributable to the higher likelihood of men to be smokers or heavy drinkers and the higher likelihood of women to eat fruits and vegetables 5 or more times per day. These differences were somewhat offset by a higher rate of physical activity among men (Chart 1).
Data table for Chart 1
| Healthy behaviours score |
Percent | Confidence Interval | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower 95% | Upper 95% | ||
| Males | |||
| 0 | 2.6 | 2.2 | 3.0 |
| 1 | 13.9 | 13.1 | 14.7 |
| 2 | 37.1 | 36 | 38.2 |
| 3 | 35.5 | 34.4 | 36.6 |
| 4 | 10.9 | 10.2 | 11.7 |
| Females | |||
| 0 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 1.6 |
| 1 | 9.1 | 8.6 | 9.7 |
| 2 | 34.4 | 33.4 | 35.5 |
| 3 | 37.6 | 36.5 | 38.6 |
| 4 | 17.5 | 16.7 | 18.3 |
|
Source: Canadian Community Health Survey, 2015. |
|||
Income had a notable effect on the distribution of HBS. The proportion of adults in the lowest household income quintileNote 5 were the least likely to have an HBS of 3 or 4 (43.6%). From the lowest quintile to the fourth quintile, the proportion of adults with a score of 3 or 4 increased while the fourth and fifth quintile had a similar proportion of adults. In the fourth and fifth quintile, around 55% of Canadian adults had a HBS of 3 or 4 (Chart 2).
Data table for Chart 2
| Healthy behaviours score of 3 or 4 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent | Confidence Interval | ||
| Lower 95% | Upper 95% | ||
| First quintile | 43.6 | 41.6 | 45.5 |
| Second quintile | 48.6 | 46.7 | 50.4 |
| Third quintile | 51.6 | 49.8 | 53.3 |
| Fourth quintile | 54.2 | 52.4 | 55.9 |
| Fifth quintile | 55.5 | 54.0 | 57.1 |
| Source: Canadian Community Health Survey, 2015. | |||
The proportion of residents with an HBS of 3 or 4 was lower than the national average (50.9%) in:
- Newfoundland and Labrador (36.6%)
- Nova Scotia (46.7%)
- New Brunswick (46.4%)
- Ontario (49.4%)
- Manitoba (46.3%)
- Saskatchewan (45.1%)
The proportion of residents with an HBS of 3 or 4 was higher than the national average in:
- Alberta (53.0%)
- British Columbia (57.3%)
Residents of Prince Edward Island and Quebec reported rates that were about the same as the national average.
About the Healthy Behaviours Score
The Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) collects information on the various health behaviours of Canadians. The Healthy Behaviours Score (HBS) is based on four of them: smoking, drinking, physical activity, and fruit and vegetable consumption. A score of 1 or 0 is given depending on whether the reported behaviour is healthy or not. The HBS varies from 0 to 4 depending on the number of healthy behaviour reported.
As an example, an individual who was a current smoker (0), physically active for at least 150 minutes in the week (1), not a heavy drinker (1), and eating fruits and vegetables 5 or more times per day (1) would have a score of 3 (0+1+1+1).
Data
Additional data from the Canadian Community Health Survey are available from CANSIM table 105–0508.
- Date modified: