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Canadians are stuck on the couch, but read on to learn how you can step up your game!
What are the current activity recommendations for Canadians?
The tables below summarizes Canada’s 24-hour movement guidelines (for children and youth) and exercise guidelines (for adults).
Children and youth (ages 5–17)
| Activity | Recommendations |
|---|---|
| Light activity | Several hours of a variety of structured and unstructured light physical activities |
| Moderate-to vigorous-intensity activity | At least 60 minutes per day |
| Vigorous activity | At least 3 times per week |
| Muscle and bone strengthening activity | At least 3 days per week |
| Balance activity | No recommendation |
| Uninterrupted sleep (per night) | Age 5–13: 9 to 11 hours Age 14–17: 8 to 10 hours |
| Sitting/Sedentary behaviour | No more than 2 hours per day of recreational screen time; limited sitting for extended periods |
More physical activity provides greater health benefits
Adults (ages 18–64)
| Activity | Recommendations |
|---|---|
| Light activity | *Recommendations currently being developed |
| Moderate-to vigorous-intensity activity | At least 150 minutes per week, in bouts of 10 minutes or more |
| Vigorous activity | No separate recommendation |
| Muscle and bone strengthening activity | At least 2 days per week |
| Balance activity | No recommendation |
| Uninterrupted sleep (per night) | 7 to 9 hours |
| Sitting/Sedentary behaviour | *Recommendations currently being developed |
More physical activity provides greater health benefits
Older adults (age 65 and older)
| Activity | Recommendations |
|---|---|
| Light activity | *Recommendations currently being developed |
| Moderate-to vigorous-intensity activity | At least 150 minutes per week, in bouts of 10 minutes or more |
| Vigorous activity | No separate recommendation |
| Muscle and bone strengthening activity | At least 2 days per week |
| Balance activity | Should be done by those with poor mobility |
| Uninterrupted sleep (per night) | 7 to 8 hours |
| Sitting/Sedentary behaviour | *Recommendations currently being developed |
More physical activity provides greater health benefits
Pregnant women
| Activity | Recommendations |
|---|---|
| Light activity | No recommendation |
| Moderate-to vigorous-intensity activity | At least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity activity |
| Vigorous activity | Consult obstetric care provider |
| Muscle and bone strengthening activity | At least 3 days per week |
| Balance activity | Incorporate |
| Uninterrupted sleep (per night) | No recommendation |
| Sitting/Sedentary behaviour | No recommendation |
Who develops Canada’s Activity Guidelines?
Many professional groups and leading researchers from around the world were involved in the development of physical activity guidelines for Canadians, along with input from more than 700 national and international stakeholders.
The Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines are the first evidence-based guidelines that address the whole day. These guidelines are intended to help inform Canadians of all ages of the amount of physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep that is recommended to be healthy. The 24-hour guidelines exist for those who are younger than 18 years of age and are currently being developed for adults.
Report card time: How are Canadians doing?
Statistics Canada and ParticipACTION assessed how well Canadians meet these guidelines. Take a moment to reflect on how well you are doing. Consider how well you think your relatives, friends, colleagues and neighbours measure up. I hope you, along with those you know, are doing better than most Canadians.
Insufficient data are available on adults 18 years or older to assess achieving the recommendation of performing muscle- and bone-strengthening activities, and performing balance activities.
Canadians are performing the best in the category of sleep. Approximately 75% of 5–17 year olds and 65% of adults 18–79 years of age meet sleep duration recommendations.
However, when it comes to moderate- to vigorous-intensity activity, a mere 16% of Canadian adults reach the lowest target of 150 minutes per week. Thankfully children fare a bit better; still, only 40% of those aged 5–17 meet the lowest recommended targets. And girls are only half as likely as boys to meet the targets.
Only 15% of children and youth in Canada meet all three recommendations within the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth.
Come on, Canadians: Step up your game!
When it comes to activity, Canadians have scored a big fat “F”. And keep in mind, the recommendations emphasize that more physical activity provides greater health benefits. For adults, doing 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity is just a ‘pass’; more is better.
As Canadians, we need to be concerned about our future health. Eighty-four per cent of Canadian adults are not active enough to reap the health benefits of a physically active lifestyle. It is possible that the people who read the most about physical activity are the ones who are already surpassing the recommendations. But given the failing grades for both youth and adults, we all know people who are not meeting the guidelines. Let’s all try to encourage people we know to be more active so that Canadians can score a passing grade in physical activity and improve our health and well-being.
