Two New Papers on Physical Activity Epidemiology in Canadian Children and Youth Published in Health Reports

BACKGROUND: This study describes and compares the percentages of Canadian children and youth who adhere to different operational definitions of the moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) recommendation of 60 minutes per day. DATA AND METHODS: Data for 6- to 17-year-olds (n = 5,608) were collected from 2007 through 2015 as part of the Canadian Health Measures Survey. MVPA was measured using the Actical accelerometer. The MVPA recommendation was operationalized as accumulating 60 minutes of MVPA every day, on most days, and on average. RESULTS: Data from the most recent cycle of the Canadian Health Measures Survey indicate that 7% of children and youth accumulated at least 60 minutes of MVPA on at least 6 out of 7 days, and 33% achieved a weekly average of at least 60 minutes per day. Boys accumulated more MVPA than did girls, and 6- to 11-year-olds accumulated more MVPA than did 12- to 17-year-olds. Regardless of how adherence to the recommendation is operationalized, MVPA levels among Canadian children and youth did not change over the 9-year period from 2007 to 2015. INTERPRETATION: The majority of Canadian children do not meet the physical activity recommendation, regardless of the operational definition used. However, the discrepancies between results based on different interpretations of the 60-minutes-per-day recommendation highlight the importance of explicitly reporting how recommendations are operationalized to avoid misinterpreting trends and comparisons.

BACKGROUND: The Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth: An Integration of Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour, and Sleep, provide specific recommendations on the amount of time over a typical 24-hour day that children and youth aged 5 to 17 should spend in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (at least 60 minutes), recreational screen time (no more than 2 hours), and sleep (9 to 11 hours for 5- to 13-year-olds; 8 to 10 hours for 14- to 17-year-olds). DATA AND METHODS: Based on combined results of cycles 2 (2009-to-2011) and 3 (2012-to-2013) of the Canadian Health Measures Survey, this analysis examines average daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, screen time and sleep duration of 5- to 11-year-olds and 12- to 17-year-olds, and the percentages meeting the 24-Hour Guidelines‘ recommendations. Findings are presented overall and by age group and sex. Differences in average daily times between groups were tested for statistical significance, as were differences between groups in the percentages meeting each recommendation and combination of recommendations. RESULTS: Overall, 17.5% of children and youth met the 24-Hour Guidelines‘ specific time recommendations. Higher percentages  of children than youth (29.6% versus 5.5%) and boys than girls (22.9% versus 11.8%) met the recommendations. About a third (36.3%) met two of the three recommendations. INTERPRETATION: Recommendations for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep have higher levels of adherence among children than youth.