Sedentary behaviours among adults across Canada

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Sedentary behavior (SB) prevalence and correlates are less understood in Canada compared to physical activity and weight status.
• Understanding variations in SB is crucial for targeted public health interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe various sedentary behaviors (SBs) among Canadian adults.
• To examine the correlates of different SBs in a large, representative Canadian population.

Main Methods:

• Utilized cross-sectional data from 92,918 Canadian adults (aged 20-75+) from the 2011-2012 Canadian Community Health Survey.
• Self-reported data on television viewing, computer use, video game playing, and reading time were analyzed.
• Associations between SBs and socio-demographic, health, and health behavior variables were examined.

Main Results:

• 28% of adults reported >= 5 hours/day of total SB time.
• Older adults (75+) showed higher odds of TV viewing and reading, while younger adults (20-24) had higher odds of computer and video game use.
• SBs were associated with gender, marital status, education, occupation, income, immigrant status, BMI, weight perception, smoking, diet, and physical activity.

Conclusions:

• Sedentary behaviors are common in Canadian adults and linked to a wide range of socio-demographic and health factors.
• The correlates of SB differ based on the specific type of sedentary behavior.
• Future public health interventions should be behavior-specific and tailored to distinct population segments.