Only 15 per cent of Canadians meet minimum recommended exercise standard: StatsCan
Posted January 19, 2011 9:55 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – A new study said only 15 per cent of Canadians meet the minimum recommended standard of exercise each week.
And Statistics Canada reports just seven per cent of young people between the ages of five and 17 meet the daily recommended amount of physical activity.
New international and proposed Canadian guidelines recommend adults accumulate at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity a week to obtain substantial health benefits.
The guidelines also suggest five- to 17-year-olds should accumulate at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily.
StatsCan said the guidelines for adults were achieved by 17 per cent of men and 14 per cent of women, while the youth guidelines were met by just nine per cent of boys and four per cent of girls.
The Canadian Health Measures Survey used accelerometers to measure physical activity and sedentary behaviour between 2007 and 2009.
“The data show that the majority of waking hours of both adults and young people are sedentary,” the survey says.
“Adults spend about an average of 9.5 hours a day in sedentary pursuits, the equivalent of about 69 per cent of their waking hours.
“For children and youth, 8.6 hours a day, or 62 per cent of their waking hours, are sedentary.”
The study found the averages among young people increase with age. On average, teenagers aged 15 to 19 are sedentary more than nine hours a day, it says.
Only about five per cent of adults accumulate 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity on a regular basis, said the study. That’s at least 30 minutes at least five days a week.
On average, men aged 20-39 accumulate 27 minutes a day, 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,” the agency says.
Roughly a third (35 per cent) of men and women achieve the well-known pedometer target of 10,000 steps a day.
The vast majority (97 per cent) of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity among children and youth is done at moderate intensity.
About four per cent accumulate 20 minutes of vigorous physical activity at least three days a week, six per cent accumulate 10 minutes, and 11 per cent accumulate five minutes.
Boys average 12,100 steps per day compared with 10,300 for girls.
Overweight boys average significantly fewer steps than do boys who are neither overweight nor obese, a relationship that does not exist for girls.
