Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour and Sleep (PASS) Indicators
- Last updated: 2023-03-27
The PASS Indicators are grouped by movement behaviours and broken down by individual, family/social and built/society environment.
aPercentage (%) of adults who meet physical activity recommendations by accumulating at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity each week
| Definition | The physical activity recommendations within the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Adults aged 18-64 years (http://csepguidelines.ca/adults-18-64/) and the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Adults aged 65 years and older (http://csepguidelines.ca/adults-65/) call for 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) each week for adults 18 to 64 years and for adults aged 65 years and older. This indicator uses accelerometer data to estimate the proportion of the Canadian adult population meeting the physical activity recommendations. |
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| Data Source | Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS), Statistics Canada |
| Population | Population aged 18 to 79 years |
| Data Available | Sex, age group (5 year, life-course, adults/older adults), highest level of education (household, respondent), household income, immigrant status, and trend (age-standardized) |
| Estimate Calculation | Numerator: Number of adults aged 18 to 79 who obtained at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity per week. Denominator: Total population, aged 18 to 79 years. |
| Additional Remarks | Physical activity can be measured through both objective methods, such as wearing an accelerometer or pedometer, and through self-reported information collected on a survey. Both methods have strengths and weaknesses. This indicator reports on accelerometer data. This indicator has been modified in the 2023 edition of the PASS Indicators to reflect recent changes to Canadian physical activity recommendations that were released as part of the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Adults, in October 2020 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33054332/). The most recent recommendations removed the requirement that physical activity be accrued in bouts of 10 minutes or more. This results in an increased number of Canadians identified as meeting the physical activity recommendation of 150 minutes/week. Therefore, starting in the PASS Indicators 2023 edition, estimates for this indicator should not be compared to those from previous PASS editions. |
Suggested Citation
Center for Surveillance and Applied Research, Public Health Agency of Canada. Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour and Sleep (PASS) Indicators, 2023 Edition. Public Health Infobase. Ottawa (ON): Public Health Agency of Canada, 2023.