Shine OnStudy reports calls Canadians 'an active bunch' — but are we as active as we think?
According to a recent Ipsos Reid study, in partnership with the Canadian Sporting Goods Association (CSGA), Canadians “are an active bunch.”
Over 16,500 households across the country were interviewed about their current participation in fitness and sports activities.
British Columbia came out on top, with 86 per cent of all households engaging in any fitness or sports activity.
Quebec came in last, with a not-too-shabby 77 per cent of the province engaging in physical activity.
Top activities? Walking for exercise, exercising at home with equipment, and cycling/biking.
Of course, participation fluctuates by region, with walking being more popular on the west coast and in the prairies than in Quebec, and nearly twice the number of swimmers in B.C. than Quebec.
"We conduct research every quarter on participation levels for a wide range of exercise, fitness and sports activities,” says Adrian Murphy, Vice President with Ipsos Reid. “The data uncovers a number of truths about Canadian fitness levels. In particular, it sheds light on the fact that while physical activity is ingrained in the lives of many Canadians, participation varies greatly when broken down across provinces and among different sport and fitness activities.”
Looking closer at the survey, however, it becomes clear that we’re likely far less active than we think.
In the study, for a household to be considered as participating in fitness and sports, only one individual over the age of five has to participate in one or more physical activity. Even odder, they only need to participate in that activity three times in the past 12 months.
Yes, that’s less than once a season.
So if your son has gym class, your daughter swam at a cottage one long weekend, or you’ve power-walked around the block three times over the course of a year, your family would be considered an active one.
To be fair, the survey intended to help the sporting goods industry understand fitness trends so they can better cater to Canadians. It wasn’t supposed to be a real reflection of our fitness levels.
According to Statistics Canada, just over 55 per cent of Canadians over the age of 12 engage in physical activity during their leisure time.
The 2013 Canadian Community Health Survey found that 55.2 per cent of Canadians are at least “moderately active” — the level equivalent to a 30-minute daily walk or taking an hour-long exercise class three times a week — during their free time.
A 2011 StatsCan Canadian Health Measures Survey reported similar findings: about half of Canadian adults were reporting weekly physical activity. But it’s not enough.
"Just over half of all adults accumulate at least 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity one day a week, but only 5 per cent of adults manage to accumulate the recommended 150 minutes by week’s end," CTV.ca staff summarized.
Only 15 per cent of Canadian adults are meeting the minimum exercise guidelines.
Despite self-reporting that we like to move it during our free time, we’re actually becoming increasingly sedentary — and Canadian waistlines are expanding as a result.
According to a report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 25 per cent of the nation’s adult population is now obese.
When it comes to your health, being active a measly three times a year — or even once a week — just won’t cut it.
According to the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, Canadian adults between the ages of 18 and 64 should accumulate at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity per week. Adding muscle- and bone-strengthening activities twice weekly is also beneficial.
How does your lifestyle measure up to these guidelines?
