Physical activity levels among Canadians using a health equity lens

This study examined physical activity (PA) levels among youth (12-17 years) and adults (18 years and older) living in Canada by subgroups including gender, sexual orientation, population groups, education, and income.

Data from the 2021 Canadian Community Health Survey (N = 44 239), a large national, cross-sectional survey, was used to examine self-reported daily PA time spent in active transportation, recreation, school/camp, occupational/household, and adherence to PA recommendations (≥ 60 minutes/day and ≥ 150 minutes/week of moderate-to-vigorous intensity PA for youth and adults, respectively) by population subgroups. Significant differences within subgroups were assessed with chi-square and Tukey-Kramer analyses.

Among youth, boys were more likely to meet the PA recommendation than girls (54.9% vs. 36.5%). Boys engaged in more recreational (36.0 vs. 24.0 min/day) and school/camp (24.0 vs. 15.9 min/day) PA than girls. Youth from households in the highest income quintile reported more recreational PA compared to those in the lowest income quintile (35.8 vs. 22.1 min/day). Among adults, there was a significant gender difference in PA recommendation adherence (men: 57.4% vs. women: 51.7%). Men engaged in more recreational (18.0 vs. 15.1 min/day) and occupational/household (26.4 vs. 15.4 min/day) PA than women. Recreational PA was significantly higher in households with the highest income (22.8 min/day) and education (17.4 min/day) compared to lowest income (10.4 min/day) and education (6.9 min/day), respectively. Few sub-group differences were observed for active transportation.

PA inequalities persist in Canada. Future research should explore why these inequalities exist to help inform interventions.