2007-08 Capacity Study
Working to become more active - Increasing physical activity in the Canadian workplace
(more detail on this report) |
| Bulletin no. 1 - Policies to encourage physical activity at work |
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43% mid-to-large sized companies do not have policies concerning flexible work hours. |
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Seven in ten (71%) mid-to-large sized companies do not have policies allowing extended lunch hours for employees to participate in physical activity. |
| Bulletin no. 2 - Increasing awareness of physical activity |
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41% mid-to-large sized workplaces (with 50 or more employees) provide instructions or guidelines on how to be active for health benefits, and 33% provide seminars, workshops, speakers, or training programs to increase employee awareness of physical activity. |
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55% of Canadian employers with 50 or more employees are aware of Canada’s Physical Activity Guide to Healthy Active Living. |
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The majority of Canadian companies with 50 or more employees consider increased productivity (91%), reduced health care costs and insurance premiums (91%), and reduced absenteeism (87%) to be key benefits of a physical activity program. |
| Bulletin no.3 - Ensuring a supportive environment at work for physical activity |
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20% of companies with 50 or more employees report employee access to exercise equipment, such as weights or stationary bicycles. |
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70% report that there is access to walking or bicycling trails nearby, 54% have open spaces for physical activity at work, and 56% have access to community facilities, such as schools after normal school hours or community centres. |
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69% mid-to-large sized Canadian companies report that change areas or locker rooms are available to employees to support physical activity. |
| Bulletin no. 4 - Providing supportive programming for physical activity at work |
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Approximately one fifth of mid-to-large sized companies (having 50 or more employees) offer access to fitness testing or physical activity counselling (27%) and to group exercise programs such as walking clubs on-site (23%). |
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Among mid-to-large companies with programs, most full-time employees (82%) can access on-site physical activity amenities (equipment, facilities, and programs). The majority of these are also accessible to part-time employees (79%). |
| Bulletin no. 5 - Barriers to participation in activity |
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Among companies with 50 or more employees, inadequate space and facilities at the workplace represent key factors preventing the initiation or expansion of physical activity programs at work, with 80% of employers reporting inadequate space and 63% of employers citing the lack of on-site facilities (such as showers, bicycle racks, and so on). |
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More than four in ten companies with at least 50 employees cite too short lunch breaks (45%) and inflexible shifts or work schedules (42%) as barriers to offering more workplace programs. |
| Bulletin no. 6 - Demand for resources to support physical activity |
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The majority of mid-to-large Canadian companies, having 50 or more employees, report that it would be helpful to them to be offered general information on how to go about developing and implementing programs (73%). |
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Approximately three-quarters (78%) of mid-to-large companies indicate that help in building employee interest or motivation to participate in physical activity programs would be beneficial to them. |
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Almost three-quarters of smaller (72%) and mid-to-large (71%) Canadian workplaces report that grants, subsidies, or interest-free loans would be helpful to them in developing or expanding physical activity programs for their employees. |
| Bulletin no. 7 - Valuing an active workforce |
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66% of companies with 50 or more employees state that employees have little or no input in the development of physical activity policies, programs, and opportunities at their workplaces. |
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Thirty-seven percent of Canadian companies with 50 or more employees report that support and encouragement from the employer substantially helps employees (a lot or a great deal) to be more physically active. |
| Bulletin no. 8 - Operation and ratings of physical activity programs at work |
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30% of companies with 50 or more employees report that the company itself is responsible for managing physical activity programs at work. |
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35% of companies say that funding is a shared responsibility between the employer and the employee. |
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2006 Physical Activity Monitor
Physical Activity Among Canadians Workers : Trends 2001 - 2006
(more detail on this report) |
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47% of Canadians are considered to have a body mass within the healthy range, while 3% are underweight, 35% are overweight and 16% are obese. |
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The majority of Canadians report that they are in at least good health: 22% of Canadian adults rate their health as excellent, 37% state it is very good, and 29% say it is good. |
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42% of working Canadians report a lack of time due to work. |
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26% of working Canadians indicate that there are no pleasant places to walk, bicycle, or be active near their workplace. |
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91% of working Canadians strongly agree that regular physical activity helps people to cope with and reduce their workplace stress. |
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85% strongly agree it helps people do their work more effectively. |
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30% say that they are permitted to participate in community physical activity events during work hours without a loss of pay. |
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26% indicate that physical activity seminars or workshops are offered. |
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The majority (76%) of employed Canadians report that there are easily accessible stairs at their workplaces. |
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Nearly half (48%) of all working Canadians indicate the availability of recreational events such as golf tournaments or ski trips through work, while about one third (30%) report that team sports are available at work. |
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Roughly one fifth of employed Canadians report having direct access to fitness facilities at work (18%) or exercise equipment like weights or stationary bicycles at work (18%). |
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Approximately one third (32%) of employed Canadians report having access to showers at work, while 40% report having access to change areas or locker rooms, and 37% report having access to bicycle racks. |
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2006 Capacity Study
Opportunities for physical activity in Canadian Schools: Trends from 2001 — 2006
(more detail on this report) |
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More than 90% of schools have access to gymnasiums, playing fields, or permit access to their outdoor facilities outside of school hours. |
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Between 80-90% have access to paved areas for games like hopscotch and outdoor basketball hoops. |
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Between 70-80% of schools have access to areas with playground equipment, baseball diamonds, bicycle racks, and change rooms. |
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Between 50-60% of schools have access to other physical activity rooms and skating rinks, and allow access to their indoor facilities outside of school hours. |
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54% of schools provide school personnel with health promotion programs: 36% offer these to all staff members and 18% offer to physical education staff only. |
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42% of schools offer physical activity guidelines to all staff and an additional 38% offer them to physical education staff only. |
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At least 80% of schools provide intramurals, inter-school physical activities or sports, or other physical activity outings. |
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88% of school or school communities provide financial assistance to help with costs associated with physical activities. |
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Roughly one-third of schools report that the majority of students participate in physical activities before and after school, while roughly two-thirds say the majority participate at recess and at lunch. |
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84% have fully- and 4% have partially-implemented policies to provide daily recess. |
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53% have fully- and 26% have partially-implemented policies to provide a range of physical activities to students. |
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46% have fully- and 17% have partially-implemented policies to hire teachers with university qualifications in teaching physical education, whereas only 9% have fully- and 15% have partially-implemented policies ensuring that coaches have NCCP qualifications. |
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81% of schools provide information on opportunities to be physically active at school. |
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Between 70-80% of schools encourage participation in physical activity events, promote community physical activity programs to students and their families, provide certificates or rewards to students participating in physical activity, or integrate physical activity into lesson plans. |
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Between 10-15% provide credit for physical activity training or certification, frequently use physical activity as a reward, or provide late bussing for students participating in physical activity after school. |
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2005 Physical Activity and Sport Monitor
Physical activity and sport : Encouraging children to be active
(more detail on this report) |
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72% of parents provide financial contributions toward the purchase of equipment, payment of a membership, and/or paying for coaching or instruction and the like. |
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49 % of Canadians (aged 20 or older) are at least moderately active during their leisure time, accumulating a daily average of at least 1.5 KKD of physical activity. |
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79% of sport participants primarily participate in a competitive and structured environment |
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73% of children and youth aged 5 to 19 do not accumulate sufficient daily steps to meet the sex-specific criteria associated with a healthy body mass index (BMI) |
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Nearly three-quarters (71%) of parents indicate that their children's school offers physical activity programs outside of physical education class. |
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70% of Canadian children play outdoors between the time they get home from school and the time they eat dinner. |
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Nearly three-quarters of Canadian parents indicate that private facilities and programs for physical activity are available locally. |
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Three-quaters of Canadian parents report having contributed financially to their children's physical activities and sports during the previous year this financial support might include buying equipment, paying a membership fee, or paying for coaching or instruction. |
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One-quarter of the parents surveyed report that their children participate because they find it personally satisfying, while 19% say it helps them accomplish specific goals. |
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2004
Physical Activity and Sport Monitor
Local opportunities for physical activity : Trends from 1999-2004
(more
detail on this report) |
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49% of Canadians (aged 20 and
over) are at least moderately active during their leisure
time. |
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Women are more likely than men to report
walking as a form of exercise. |
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Only 21% of Canadian teenagers are active
enough to meet international guideline for optimal growth
and development. |
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Teenage boys (27%) are twice as likely as
teenage girls (14%) to meet international guidelines for
optimal growth and development. |
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34% of Canadians report that they have engaged
in organized physical activity at some point in the last
12 months. |
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Only 37% of Canadians say that they have
heard of Canada's Physical Activity Guide. |
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41% of Canadians say they have received information
on physical activity or sport in the last 3 months. |
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49% of Canadians say the information they
received did not influence them to become active. |
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2004
Capacity Study
Municipality perspective on opportunities for physical activity: trends from 2000-2004
(more
detail on this report) |
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90% of municipalities have received some form of information on physical activity . |
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88% of municipalities indicate that they provide some type of information to their residents . |
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Small municipalities are less likely than larger ones to access, use, and distribute information . |
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The majority of municipalities work in conjunction with other organizations when trying to help their residents to become more active. |
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80% of municipalities indicate that there are multi-use trails and paths available for physical activity that prohibit motorized traffic. |
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45% have multi-trails that are shared with motorized traffic. |
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The majority of municipalities indicate that local sport and recreation facilities are in need of repair or maintenance and it's difficult to find funds to cover the costs |
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4 in 10 municipalities agree that the number of physical activity opportunities have increased over the past year. |
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49% state that the physical opportunities will increase in the next 5 yrs. |
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