Term: Physical Activity Index
Last Updated: 2007-09-26
Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) respondents are classified as active, moderately active or inactive based on an index of average daily physical activity over the past 3 months. For each physical activity engaged in by the respondent, an average daily energy expenditure is calculated by multiplying the number of times the activity was performed by the average duration of the activity by the energy cost (kilocalories per kilogram of body weight per hour) of the activity. The index is calculated as the sum of the average daily energy expenditures of all activities. Respondents are classified as follows: 3.0 kcal/kg/day or more = physically active; 1.5 - 2.9 kcal/kg/day = moderately active; less than 1.5 kcal per day = inactive.