Term: Total Physical Activity Levels - (CCHS Survey Data)
Last Updated: 2010-08-18
In the CCHS, total physical activity is a derived variable for respondents based on the average daily energy expenditure values (kcal/kg/day) calculated from a series of questions on physical activity (i.e., usual daily activities or occupational-related physical activity), physical activity for travel (i.e., biking or walking to school or work), and leisure time physical activity (i.e., walking, running, gardening, soccer) by the respondent in the past three months. Respondents were asked questions such as, "Thinking back over the past three months, which of the following best describes your usual daily activities or work habits (usually sit, stand or walk quite a lot, usually lift or carry light loads, do heavy work or carry very heavy loads)? In the past three months, how many times did you walk for exercise? About how much time did you spend on each occasion?"
Respondents age 15-75 were grouped into three categories: Active, Moderate, or Inactive based on tertiles of average daily energy expenditure created from the pooled sample of all non-missing scores in CCHS 1.1, 2.1, and 3.1. The tertiles were divided as follows: active physical activity (27.7 kcal/kg/day or more), moderate physical activity (15.4-27.6 kcal/kg/day) and inactive physical activity (0-15.3 kcal/kg/day). The crude and adjusted proportion of respondents in each group can be reported.