Nunavut

• As many as 65% of Nunavut residents are insufficiently active for optimal health benefits.
  
  
• The most popular physical activities for adults over 18 are:
  
  

  Walking for exercise	78%
  Home exercise	52
  Social dancing	50
  Gardening, yard work	36
  Swimming	36
  Bicycling	35
  Jogging, running	34
  Skating	34
  Baseball, softball	32
  Volleyball	31
  Basketball	27
  Ice hockey	24
  Weight training	21
  Badminton	20
  Golf	19
  Soccer	17
  Exercise class, aerobics	14

What about children?

• Parents in Nunavut report that over half (56%) of children and youth aged 5-17 are not active enough for optimal growth and development. For the purposes of this analysis, the term "active enough" is equivalent to an energy expenditure of at least eight kilocalories per kilogram of body weight per day (KKD). For example, a half hour of martial arts plus walking for a total of at least one hour throughout the day would be sufficient activity for a child.
  
  
• According to Nunavut parents, 72% of children aged 5-17 do some physical activity at home, 61% participate in physical education classes at school, 42% participate in other physical activities at school outside of physical education, and 57% participate in physical activities elsewhere.
  
  
• The most popular physical activities for children aged 5 to 17 are:
  
  

  Walking	89%
  Bicycling	77
  Swings, slides, teeter-totters*	76
  Skating	63
  Swimming	57
  Baseball	44
  Soccer	44
  Running, jogging	43
  Social dancing	41
  Hockey	37

  *This includes only 5-12 year-olds.

Knowledge of physical activity guidelines

• Awareness of guidelines—The 2000 Physical Activity Monitor examined (1) adults' awareness of physical activity guidelines for adults and (2) their understanding of the messaging contained in these guidelines. In Nunavut, 22% of adults are aware of some guidelines for physical activity.
  
  Adults in Nunavut are less likely than Canadians overall to be aware of guidelines for physical activity.
  
  
• Understanding of Guide messages—When asked whether activity could be accumulated to meet the guidelines, a key message in Canada's Physical Activity Guide, Nunavut residents display a mixed understanding about the requirement. Specifically, 55% report that people need to do at least 30 minutes of physical activity all at one time, and 43% report, as per the Guide, that they need to accumulate 30 minutes of physical activity throughout the day.

Choices in commuting

• Active commuting among adults—In Nunavut, 87% of adults report having walked during the past year to work, school, for errands, or as a means of getting around. Those who report walking to commute did so for 223 days during the past year and spent, on average, 115 minutes walking on those days.
  
  Adults in Nunavut are more likely than Canadian adults overall to walk as a means of commuting. They also report more days walking than the Canadian average.
  
  In addition, 23% of adults report having bicycled during the past year to commute. On average, they bicycled to commute 48 days out of the past year.
  
  
• Commuting for children: Active choices—According to Nunavut parents, 48% of children aged 5-17 use entirely active modes to travel to and from school each day.
  
  Parents in Nunavut are more likely than Canadian parents overall to report that their children typically use active modes to travel to and from school each day.
  
  
• Commuting for children: Inactive choices—In the North as a whole, 36% of children aged 5-17 rely solely on inactive modes of transportation to travel to and from school.
  
  Children in Nunavut are the least likely of all Canadian children to use entirely motorized modes of commuting to and from school each day.
  
  
• Commuting for children: Mixed choices—In Nunavut, 38% of children aged 5-17 use a mixed mode, or combination of active and inactive modes of transportation, to travel to and from school. Typically, this involves walking for part of the way and being driven, or taking a bus or other public transport, for the rest of the trip.

Physical activity programming in the school environment

• Physical education opportunities at school—In the North, 22% of children aged 5-17 reportedly receive physical education classes at school 1-2 days each week. A further 35% participate 3-4 days a week, and 32% receive daily physical education. Very few (11%) children in this age group receive no physical education at all. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of Nunavut parents believe that their children get enough physical activity through physical education provided at school.
  
  
• Other physical activity programming at school—50% of Nunavut parents report that their children’s school offers physical activity programs outside of physical education classes. Among parents in the North, 40% believe that these types of programs meet their children’s needs quite well or very well, and a further 24% report that they meet their children’s needs moderately well. However, 36% state that their children’s needs are met only somewhat well or not at all.
  
  Parents in Nunavut are less likely than Canadian parents overall to indicate the availability of other physical activity programming outside of physical education at school for their children.
  
  
• Use of local physical activity facilities by schools—74% of Nunavut parents indicate that their children’s school makes use of local community facilities for school physical activity programming. This can include trips to local ski hills, community swimming pools, arenas, and so on.

Children's use of time after school

• Doing sedentary activities after school—Nunavut parents report that 69% of children usually do homework for part of the time between the end of classes and dinner, and 88% also reportedly engage in other sedentary activities, such as reading, watching television, or playing computer or video games. Accurate measures of overall time spent in sedentary activities during this time were not able to be derived because children may sometimes do two or more sedentary activities at once (such as doing homework and watching television at the same time).
  
  
• Doing chores after school—Overall, 65% of Nunavut children spend some time doing chores between the time they finish school and supper.
  
  
• Playing outdoors after school—83% of Nunavut children reportedly play outdoors between the time they finish school and the time they eat dinner.
  
  
• Participating in organized activities after school—36% of children in the North reportedly spend time in organized activities, such as soccer practice or swim classes, between the time they finish school and the time they eat dinner.
  
  
• Participating in unorganized activities after school—According to Nunavut parents, 63% of children spend time in unorganized physical activities, such as bicycling or walking, between the time they finish school and the time they have dinner.

Local opportunities to be active

• Public facilities and programs—The majority (82%) of Nunavut parents report that public facilities and programs are available locally for their children to do physical activities. About 32% of Nunavut parents believe that these public facilities and programs meet their children’s physical activity needs well or very well, while 31% report that they meet their needs somewhat well, and 36% say that they do not meet their children’s needs very well or at all. In addition, 26% of Nunavut parents report that their children use these types of facilities and programs often or very often, 28% use them somewhat often, and 46% use them rarely or not at all.
  
  Parents in Nunavut are less likely than Canadian parents overall to report that public facilities and programs meet their children’s physical activity needs well or very well.
  
  
• Private facilities and programs—27% of Nunavut parents indicate that local private facilities and programs are available for their children’s physical activity. Among parents in the North, 37% believe that the local private facilities and programs meet their children’s physical activity needs well or very well, 17% believe that these needs are met somewhat well, and the remaining 46% report that these facilities do not meet their children’s needs very well or at all. The majority of children in the North (69%) reportedly do not use private facilities and programs very often or at all.
  
  Parents in Nunavut are less likely than Canadian parents overall to report the availability of private facilities and programs for their children to be physically active.
  
  
• Local parks and outdoor spaces—Local parks and outdoor spaces in which children can do physical activity are available to most Nunavut residents (68%). Among Nunavut parents, 60% indicate that these types of facilities meet their children’s needs either well or very well. In addition, 40% of Nunavut children reportedly use parks and outdoor spaces often or very often, and 31% do not use them very often or at all.
  
  Reported availability of local parks and outdoor spaces where children can be physically active is lowest in Nunavut.
  
  
• Other local places for physical activity—72% of Nunavut parents report that there are other places, like school yards used after hours, available locally for their children to do physical activity. In the North, 48% of all parents reporting availability believe that these facilities meet their children’s needs well or very well, a further 25% report that they meet these needs somewhat well, and 27% report that they do not meet these needs very well or at all. Finally, 27% of children in the North reportedly use these types of facilities often or very often, 28% use them somewhat often, and, in Nunavut, 49% do not use them very often or at all.
  
  
• Safety concerns about children’s physical activity—A total of 36% of Nunavut parents report that they worry a great deal when their children are playing outside, and 24% report that they do not worry at all.

Parental involvement in children's physical activity

• Playing active games or sports with children—In Nunavut, 35% of parents report playing active games or sports with their children either often or very often. A further 41% do this sometimes, and 24% do this rarely or not at all.
  
  
• Transporting children to physical activities—Among Nunavut parents, 31% take their children often or very often to and from places where they can be physically active. Moreover, 36% do this sometimes and 33% do this rarely or not at all.
  
  
• Volunteering with physical activities—In the North as a whole, 29% of parents report that they have supervised recess or helped out at a physical activity event at school during the past year. In Nunavut, 26% of parents indicate that they have volunteered to help with their children’s physical activities outside of school, including volunteering for a sport or recreation group, serving on a committee, helping at a special event or outing, or the like.
  
  
• Financial support of children’s physical activity—33% of Nunavut parents report that during the previous 12 months they have contributed financially to their children’s physical activities, including buying equipment, paying a membership or fee, or paying for coaching or instruction for their children’s physical activity.
  
  Parents in Nunavut are less likely than Canadian parents overall to report financial contributions toward their children’s physical activities.

Children's physical activity preferences

• Active or sedentary activities?—In Nunavut, 61% of parents report that their children like to do both physically active and sedentary activities (such as watching television, reading, or playing computer games) equally.
  
  
• Organized or unorganized physical activities?—Whereas 36% of Nunavut parents report that when their children are active, they prefer participating in unorganized physical activities, such as riding a bike, skateboarding, or walking, fewer (18% in the North) state that their children prefer to engage in organized activities, such as soccer, dance classes, or competitive basketball. The remaining 43% of Nunavut parents say that their children like organized and unorganized physical activities equally.
  
  
• Vigorous- or moderate-intensity activities?—33% of Nunavut parents report that their children prefer vigorous physical activities, which involve considerable "running around," over moderate activities, which are less strenuous. Conversely, 27% of parents report a preference on the part of their children for moderate over vigorous activities. In addition, 34% of parents indicate that their children favour vigorous- and moderate-intensity activities equally.

The Institute gratefully acknowledges the financial support of Health Canada and the Interprovincial Sport and Recreation Council toward the Benchmarks Program. Our Nunavut partner is the Department of Community Government and Transportation, Sport Nunavut Division.