Self-reported health behaviour change in adults: analysis of the Canadian Community Health Survey 4.1

Knowledge of Canadians' experiences in making health behaviour changes (HBCs) in general, and among those at risk due to body mass index (BMI), would help inform health promotion / disease prevention programs. Selected self reported HBCs in the past 12 months by BMI category were examined in this secondary analysis of the Canadian Community Health Survey 4.1. These HBCs included increased sports/exercise, weight loss and improved eating habits. Barriers to HBC were also examined.

Descriptive analyses and forward stepwise logistic regression were completed on data from respondents 18 years and older. Self-reported BMI was corrected by the method of Connor Gorber et al. (2008).

Our final sample was n = 111 449. Overall, 58% of respondents had made an HBC, with increased sports/exercise as the most important HBC in 29% of the sample, followed by improved eating habits (10%) and weight loss (7%). Half (51%) experienced barriers to HBC; lack of will power was most commonly cited, followed by work and family responsibilities. Obese respondents reported HBC more frequently than normal-weight respondents (60% vs. 55%), but the prevalence of increased sports/ exercise and improved eating habits was similar across BMI categories. Regression models accounted for only 6%-10% of the total variance.

That a majority of respondents had made at least one HBC bodes well for positively shifting population health. Additional work to further characterize the population, and to improve on population indicators, is needed to assess the impact of health promotion/disease prevention efforts. These findings provide important first population benchmarks for future work.