The mission of the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute is to enhance the well-being of Canadians through research and communication of information about physically active lifestyles to the public and private sectors.

The Institute takes an integrated approach to understanding active living and strives to address fitness issues from the complementary perspectives of the health professions, the sociological and psychological sciences, and the physiological and biological sciences.

Our vision for the next 20 years
In 20 years from now, more Canadians could become active enough to reap targeted health benefits. Should we manage to mirror the gains made over the last 20 years, fully half of Canadians could be considered active enough by the year 2020.

Our vision for the next 20 years encompasses:

• a balanced use of strategies to support physical activity—policy, environmental change, strong programs, awareness and education, skill development, capacity building, research and evaluation.
   
• major settings supporting people's decision to be active "at home, at work and at play"—home, work, school, sport and recreation system, health care system;
   
• all segments of society being more active—children, women and men, older adults, low-income earners, aboriginals;

For this vision to come true, individual Canadians must take charge of their own health, and society must support individual effort—through supportive workplaces, schools, and communities. The population has made considerable strides in increasing discretionary physical activity. Now we clearly need to place more emphasis on environmental change than we have up until now. Governments at all levels have an important role to play in this respect.

On the research front, we will endeavour to

• place a greater emphasis on research and policy focusing on the environmental supports required to increase population levels of physical activity;
   
• understand the relative impact of individual, social and physical environmental factors on access and adherence to an active lifestyle. This will help us to tailor appropriate interventions to increase access and adherence;
   
• understand the dose-response relationship between frequency, intensity, duration, type of activity and health-related quality of life. In other words, how much, how often, how long, how hard, how, and for what benefit...

Not a small task! But the Institute is dedicated and committed to taking up the challenge and help achieve the vision of a healthier, more active Canada.