The ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical activity and screen time among Canadian adults

Health Rep. 2023 Oct 18;34(10):13-23. doi: 10.25318/82-003-x202301000002-eng.ABSTRACTBACKGROUND: Canadian and international research has shown that the COVID-19 pandemic led to changes in health behaviours, including participation in physical activity and screen time.METHODS: The Canadian Community Health Survey asks Canadian adults (aged 18 to 64 years) and older adults (aged 65 and older) to report the time they spend active by domain: recreation, transportation, and household and/or occupation. Survey respondents are also asked to report their screen time on days they worked and days they did not work. The present analysis compares the physical activity from four cross-sectional samples collected during 2018 (n=50,093), January to mid-March 2020 (n=13,933), September to December 2020 (n=25,661) and January 2021 to February 2022 (n=45,742). Screen time is compared between 2018 and 2021. Sub-annual analyses examine how physical activity and screen time varied within and between years.RESULTS: The percentage of 18- to 64-year-old women meeting the physical activity recommendation did not change from 2018 (54.3%) to 2021 (55.1%), while a slight decrease was observed among men (63.0% in 2018 to 59.8% in 2021). The percentage of adults aged 65 years and older meeting the recommendation increased from 2018 to 2021 among both men (40.7% to 43.8%) and women (33.4% to 36.9%). Total physical activity decreased by 17.5 minutes per week among 18- to 64-year-old men and increased by 8.4...
Source: Health Reports - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Source Type: research