Half of Canadians physically inactive, StatsCan says: Knowledge Driven Revolution

Related - Cough, Cough. Obesity is Contagious

Is your idea of exercise walking from your office to the local coffee shop? You're not alone.

Forty-eight per cent of Canadians aged 12 and over — or about 12.7 million people — are inactive, getting the equivalent of less than a half-hour of walking each day, according to research from Statistics Canada released Wednesday.

And 25 per cent — 6.6 million Canadians — say they sit most of the day.

On the upside, activity levels are increasing among people who walk or bike as a means of daily transportation, rising to 25 per cent in 2005, up from 19 per cent in 1996.

The survey, Physically Active Canadians, also finds that men are more likely than women to spend more of their leisure time being what Statistics Canada called "moderately active" — participating in an activity equivalent to walking 30 to 60 minutes a day or attending an hour-long exercise class three times a week.

As well, fifty-two per cent of Canadians aged 12 and over report that they were at least moderately active in 2005 — an increase from 43 per cent in 1996.

British Columbians get the most exercise

Residents of British Columbia are the most active of all the provinces, with 59 per cent being at least moderately active in their leisure time. Yukon (58 per cent) and Alberta (52 per cent) follow suit.

At the other end of the country, Prince Edward Island (44 per cent), Newfoundland (44 per cent) and Labrador (46 per cent) have the lowest proportions of people who say they're moderately active.

The study also finds that city dwellers, who live in urban areas with more than two million people, report lower levels of physical activity than people who live in smaller cities and less populated areas.

Data from the 2005 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) and the 1996/1997 National Population Survey (NPHS) were used to estimate physical activity levels. The overall response rate was 79 per cent and the sample size was 132,947.

The NPHS had an overall response rate of 82.6 per cent and the sample size was 73,402.